CROATIA AND BOSNIAN FEDERATION DISCUSS PLOCE FREE TRADE ZONE

ZAGREB, March 25 (Hina) - Expert teams of the governments of Croatia and the Bosnian Federation meet in Zagreb on Monday to discuss a draft agreement granting the Federation access to the Adriatic Sea through Croatian territory and regulating the status of a free trade zone in the southern port of Ploce. The Croatian negotiating team was led by Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas-Hodak while the Federation delegation was headed by Minister of Foreign Trade and Communications Neven Tomic. "I'm pleased to say that in accordance with the Washington accords we have discussed a draft agreement made by the Croatian side and we have agreed on a large number of its provisions," Hodak told reporters after the meeting. She added that some details needed to be explained or amended, including the way in which the free trade zone would be managed. An expert team of business people from Bosnia-Herzegovina and representatives of the Ploce port were expected to meet by April 15 to propose possible solutions. (hina) vm 251920 MET mar 96