CROATIAN AND BOSNIAN BUSINESSMEN MEET IN PLOCE TO DISCUSS COOPERATION

COOPERATION $ PLOCE, Aug 11 (Hina) - A delegation of Bosnian businessmen from the Tuzla canton, headed by president of the regional chamber of commerce Imsir Imsirovic, met the authorities of the southern Croatian Adriatic port of Ploce on Monday for talks on economic cooperation. The meeting, which also involved president of the Dubrovnik county chamber of commerce Ivo Grkovic and head of the department for infrastructure, transport and reconstruction of the Split county chamber of commerce Berislav Buselic, followed successful talks last week between Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Presidency Alija Izetbegovic. The two delegations stressed that a condition for economic cooperation was restoration of rail traffic between Ploce and Tuzla via Sarajevo and Zenica and resolution of the problem of the Doboj railway hub. With the establishment of rail traffic, the Tuzla region would annually export through Ploce about a million tonnes of coal and about 100,000 tonnes of heating coal to Italy, and would import fertilisers. It was agreed that officials of the Bosnian Railways company and the port of Ploce would meet in Tuzla before the end of September to resolve the accumulated problems and create conditions for full economic cooperation in line with the Split agreement between the presidents of the two countries. (hina) vm 112238 MET aug 97