ZAGREB, March 10 (Hina) - Croatian Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship Minister Branko Vukelic met Austrian Ambassador Hans Knitel on Wednesday to acquaint him with the government's economic priorities, the ministry said in a
statement.
ZAGREB, March 10 (Hina) - Croatian Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship
Minister Branko Vukelic met Austrian Ambassador Hans Knitel on
Wednesday to acquaint him with the government's economic priorities,
the ministry said in a statement.#L#
Those priorities include higher production and exports, and stronger
competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets, with emphasis on
stronger small and medium-scale enterprise, the minister said.
From 1993 to 2003, Austria accounted for 24.2 percent of foreign
investment in Croatia, i.e. US8.75 billion, which makes it the
premier foreign investor in the Croatian economy, according to
Croatian National Bank data.
The majority of investments are made in the economy, specifically
construction material, communications, financial services, hotels,
restaurants, mining and trade, and in the finance sector, which
currently accounts for more than 40 percent of investment.
Vukelic said bringing order into land books and the judicial reform
were government priorities whose implementation would increase the
security of foreign investors in Croatia.
Knitel said the Austrian government would support Croatia in its bid
to join the European Union as soon as possible.
(Hina) ha sb