CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DELEGATION VISITS HUNGARY

BUDAPEST, April 3 (Hina) - Croatia and Hungary have a number of common political and economic interests, which was why their cooperation was developing in a very favourable direction, government delegations of the two countries said at a meeting in Budapest on Wednesday. The Croatian delegation, headed by Assistant Foreign Minister Hidajet Biscevic, met the Secretary of State at Hungary's Foreign Ministry, Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, his deputy Janos Toth and other senior Foreign Ministry officials for talks on bilateral cooperation, the situation in the occupied areas of eastern Croatia and the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The talks also focused on preparations for a meeting in Zagreb of Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Kovacs. Biscevic told reporters after the talks that Hungary was ready for the start of bilateral talks on free trade zones, which was in line with Croatia's plans to join the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA). "We've also discussed the final definition of the role of the (northern Adriatic) port of Rijeka as part of joint trade cooperation," Biscevic said. "The Hungarian side has confirmed that it wants to realize an important part of its economic interests through transport links with Croatia," he added. (hina) vm jn 032002 MET apr 96