TOURISM MINISTERS OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN INITIATIVE MEET IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, May 18 (Hina) - Tourism ministers of Central European Initiative (CEI) member states met in Zagreb on Saturday to work out a joint approach in presenting their tourism potential. Croatia, acting as the chair of the CEI Working Group for Tourism, would try to stimulate tourist activities and projects through a management centre that was expected to open in Zagreb, Croatian Tourism Minister Niko Bulic said in opening remarks. The Deputy Tourism Minister and chairwoman of the Working Group for Tourism, Vinka Cetinski, presented basic guidelines of the preliminary draft of a strategic marketing plan for CEI countries. The tourism ministers and their representatives from CEI member states (Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and countries that will become members in May (Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine) were also addressed by Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. Granic highlighted Croatia's main strategic objectives: the peaceful reintegration of the remaining occupied area of eastern Croatia, the strengthening of the Bosnian Croat-Moslem Federation and the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the development of good relations with neighbouring countries, including the normalization of relations with Belgrade, and joining Euro- Atlantic associations. Croatia attached great importance to its membership in CEI and fully supported all its activities, Granic said. "Croatia doesn't want to wait for the slowest country in the region to solve its internal problems so that it could be admitted to European integrations," Granic said in reference to Belgrade and its problem of the southern Kosovo province with the majority ethnic Albanian population and Serbian-Montenegrin relations. Granic said that Croatia would seek "clear and unequivocal support" of CEI countries at the next meeting in Vienna "for the urgent admission of Croatia to the Council of Europe." (hina) vm 181217 MET may 96