CROATIAN PRESIDENT GIVES INTERVIEW TO 'LEADERS' MAGAZINE

NEW YORK, July 12 (Hina) - What Croatia has achieved in recent years has to arouse a sense of wonderment, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said in an exclusive interview to "Leaders", the American political and economic quarterly published in New York. In the interview, which is part of a special feature dedicated to Croatia in the quarterly's latest issue, Croatia's President spoke about his principal presidential tasks and the tasks of the Croatian Government in the forthcoming period, the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accord, relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the economic achievements which placed Croatia among the most successful former socialist countries. In the same issue, Leaders also brings an interview with Croatian Premier Zlatko Matesa. "If you look at Croatia objectively today, what this country has achieved in recent years is something that has to arouse a sense of wonderment", said President Tudjman. At the same time, he stressed, Croatia is subjected to criticism about what it has achieved, even from such important newspapers as the New York Times. This shows that we are continually faced with the fight between a positive approach and scepticism, Tudjman assessed, but added he hopes positive thinking will prevail in the end. In answer to what he sees as the most important objectives of his new term in office, the Croatian President said his "personal task and the task of Croatia's democratic government will be to focus fully on the reconstruction of the country, to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and to improve the standard of living of our citizens". Also, Tudjman said, "I will further advance Croatia's relations with democratic countries around the world". Speaking about the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, President Tudjman assessed it is necessary to ensure the implementation of the Dayton peace accords. "Croatia has committed itself to peace and the end of the horrors of war. We have also committed ourselves to a proposed federation with the Muslims. Croatia and the Croats in BH accepted this proposal, even though I must say that there is a certain degree of misunderstanding and distrust on both sides, most of it coming from the Muslim side", Croatia's President pointed out. "The Bosnian crisis, objectively speaking, is certainly one of the most complex crises in today's world. This is why it will require great wisdom and determination in order to arrive at a solution that will avoid future conflicts. There cannot be a superficial or interim approach, rather, we need a solution that will be permanent and in the interest of all three nations", Tudjman added. Asked about the situation in Serbia, the Croatian President pointed out it is up to the Serbian people to decide who will govern them. As far as Croatia is concerned, Tudjman said, "we are for the normalization of relations with Serbia, (which should be) based on reciprocal recognition, particularly between the Croats and the Serbs, who are the two oldest civilizations in this region". Speaking about Croatia's economic achievements, President Tudjman pointed out that, in spite of the fact that it was the victim of aggression, Croatia succeeded in almost completely transforming its economy, which has been recognized by international financial and economic experts. "Today, Croatia has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world. Objectively, we have achieved economic stability that places Croatia among the top three or four countries among the 24 former socialist countries of Europe and the Soviet Union. Moreover, Croatian legislation guarantees the development of the free-market system, the privatization of Croatian companies, as well as foreign investment opportunities in the country, just as in any Western country", said President Tudjman. The Leaders' interviewer also asked the Croatian President about his health, which some sceptics describe as poor. Tudjman assessed it is not only the sceptics, "but also people who still cannot reconcile themselves to the idea of an independent, democratic Croatia. These are people who eagerly played up my illness, and definitely exaggerated it." "However, to the surprise of those sceptics and the people who cannot reconcile themselves to an independent and democratic Croatia, and to the satisfaction of the Croatian people, my health is such that I am able to run the state and also play tennis, which helps me maintain my health. The results of the recent election (once again) showed that the Croatian people trust and have confidence in the policies that I am advocating", President Tudjman assessed. In his interview to Leaders, Croatia's Premier Zlatko Matesa spoke about Croatia's economic trends and achievements. Asked about Croatia's most important geopolitical goals, Matesa pointed out that Croatia has a very simple strategy - the preservation of a political and macroeconomic stability which, according to the Premier, is the precondition for economic growth in Croatia. Last year's economic growth justifies optimism for this year, Matesa said, adding that Croatia is entering a new age, not only as a state, but as an economic factor as well. In this new age of its development, Croatia is focusing on foreign investments, trade and economy promotion, in an attempt to overcome conceptions generated as a result of events in the former Yugoslavia. In line with this, Premier Matesa stressed, we are trying to develop an economic diplomacy in order to stimulate investments in Croatia. Speaking about fields in economy where Croatia wishes to attract foreign investments, Matesa said Croatia is mostly concentrating on those fields where it believes it has competition advantages, such as shipbuilding, the pharmaceutical industry (Pliva - one of the most successful enterprises in Europe), the timber and wood industry, agriculture and the food-processing industry, and of course, tourism. Asked about his recent visits to Moscow, Beijing and Jakarta, where he promoted Croatia's economic strategy, Premier Matesa said the greatest result of those visits is the improvement of Croatia's trade relations and the increase of investments in Croatia. Part of our overall strategy is, Matesa pointed out, to make Croatia the entrance to Eastern Europe. We believe this is has not only to do with Croatia's geographical position, but also the skill of Croatia's citizens, who are among the best workers in the world, Matesa assessed. The Leaders' interviewer also asked Matesa to assess Croatia's relations with the United States. The U.S. and President Clinton have invested a lot in this region, especially in relation to the peace mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia's Premier said, adding that they also invested in the post-war reconstruction of Croatia and BH. During U.S. Trade Minister Kantor's visit, we signed the first bilateral agreements on projects related to the building of the infrastructure, Matesa said, adding that U.S. companies invested more than USD two billion for their projects in Croatia, which for Croatia, is of extreme value. (hina) ha 121230 MET jul 97