Popescu-Tariceanu told the press that Romania, which chairs CEFTA this year, wished the CEFTA enlargement project to be finalised and that he was looking forward to Romania and Croatia working together on the establishment of a zone of peace and stability in the region.
Sanader said CEFTA enlargement was of outstanding importance for cooperation and stability in Southeast Europe and thanked the European Union for supporting it.
According to him, concrete negotiations on CEFTA enlargement are expected to start at a Bucharest summit on April 6 and completed during Romania's presidency.
Popescu-Tariceanu said Romania supported Croatia's full membership of the EU and NATO, adding it was in the interest of both the Union and the entire region.
The two prime ministers also discussed projects of cooperation in the economy, notably in energy, transport, construction and tourism.
They said that a memorandum of understanding would be signed in Trieste on March 21 among the five countries involved in the construction of the Constanta-Trieste pan-European pipeline, which will bring Caspian and Russian oil from the Romanian seaport of Constanta to Europe.
The memorandum will be signed by industry and energy ministers of Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, and Italy. By signing the document, Slovenia and Italy will officially join the project, the Romanian government has said.
The Constanta-Trieste pipeline will secure 60-90 million tons of crude oil annually for countries of Central Europe. Construction is expected to be completed by 2012, costing about 2.5 billion euros.