MESIC: ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH ROMANIA COULD BE BETTER

BUCHAREST, Sept 13 (Hina) - All indicators of the Romania-Croatia economic cooperation show that it could be enhanced, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said addressing the participants in the Romanian-Croatian Economic Forum in Bucharest on Friday. #L# Mesic said that negotiations on the implementation of a more liberal trade regime were nearing the end. According to Mesic, the last formal obstacle to better economic cooperation was now removed. Croatia and Romania have a possibility to connect two seas and two markets - the Black and the Adriatic Sea, Mesic said. According to him, the Danube river opens new prospects for the two countries' economic cooperation. Trade exchange between Croatia and Romania amounts to US$27 million, of which only one fifth goes to Croatia's export. Mesic expressed belief that this trade deficit would be reduced and once again called on the two countries' entrepreneurs to expand and strengthen cooperation through immediate contacts. Romanian President Ion Iliescu also addressed the participants of the Croatian-Romanian Economic Forum. Better economic cooperation is in both Croatia and Romania's interest and the two countries' good political relations are good foundations for establishing better economic cooperation, Iliescu said. He expressed hope that Croatia's joining the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) would improve cooperation with Romania. Later today, Mesic is expected to meet representatives of Romanian Croats. (hina) it