Speaking at a plenary session entitled "The Future of Trans-Atlantic Relations, EU, NATO and Collective Safety", Grabar Kitarovic said that NATO was the cornerstone of common security and trans-Atlantic relations, which she said had no alternative.
"Thanks to trans-Atlantic relations, Europe is free, united and enjoys peace, and the best guarantee for Europe to stay that way is NATO," the minister said.
She stressed that stability and security were necessary conditions for economic development and that the prospect of NATO membership encouraged candidate countries to undertake painful but necessary reforms.
The national coordinator for NATO at the Ministry, Pjer Simunovic, expressed hope that Croatia would receive an invitation for NATO membership at the next summit scheduled to take place in 2006, and that it could be a full member in 2009, when NATO would mark its 60th anniversary.
During the second day of the Crans Montana Forum, which was opened on Wednesday evening by PM Ivo Sanader, participants were discussing a wide range of topics, from traffic links between Western and South-Eastern Europe and the role of parliaments in the process of EU enlargement to tourism and macroeconomic challenges in Central and South-East Europe.