RADIC MEETS SWISS OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

ZAGREB, Sept 27 (Hina) - Croatian Minister of Reconstruction and Development Jure Radic met senior Swiss government officials in Bern on Friday evening for talks on the expansion of cooperation on reconstruction projects in Croatia. Switzerland is one of the few countries which has directly participated in the post-war reconstruction of Croatia. The villages of Osojnik, Potravlje and Crno have been rebuilt in cooperation between the Swiss government and the Croatian Ministry of Reconstruction and Development. During talks with Foreign Minister Flavio Cotti, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Development and Cooperation Directorate Walter Fust and Director of the State Office for Foreign Trade Franz Blankart, Radic presented projects for the reconstruction of the UN-administered Croatian Danube region as well as the results achieved during the process of peaceful reintegration of the region into Croatia. Radic informed the Swiss officials about the view of the Croatian government that it would not accept any extension of the UNTAES mandate beyond January 15 next year, and offered cooperation to the monitor mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which will be chaired by Switzerland. Radic proposed that the Swiss government, on the model of the projects already implemented in Dalmatia, assume sponsorship for the reconstruction of a village in the Danube region or of a street in the town of Vukovar. The Swiss officials accepted the idea with interest, promising that they would soon present it to their government. (hina) vm 271317 MET sep 97