CROATIAN PRESIDENT OPENS ECONOMIC FORUM IN PRAGUE

PRAGUE, March 7 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic opened the Economic Forum and meetings of representatives of Croatia and Czech companies in Prague on Wednesday. Commenting on economic relations between Croatia and the Czech Republic, Mesic said that Czech tourists took the third place according to the number of overnight stays of foreign tourists in Croatia, adding that the tourist cooperation should be strengthened. President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce Zdenek Somr said that the development of Croatia's tourism was an opportunity for investors from the Czech Republic. He stressed, however, that the cooperation should not be limited only to tourism, adding that the Czech Automobile Industry should find a spot at the Croatian market. Somr said the Czech Republic supported Croatia's joining the CEFTA in the near future. President Mesic said that Croatia's priority was to sign a free trade agreement with the Czech Republic this year. The two countries' trade exchange in the first eleven months in 2000 amounted to US$185 million. "Data on the trade exchange show that Croatian business partners must be more active in the export. Croatia's maritime orientation and its ports could and should be an important economic destination for the countries of central Europe, including the Czech Republic", the Croatian President said. He also pointed to the importance of cooperation between Croatia and the Czech Republic via regional initiatives, such as the Visegrad Group and Quadrilateral. "The cooperation of those two initiatives, even without firmer frameworks, is very natural and economically rational", Mesic said. He stressed that the Czech Republic and Croatia endorsed European values and that economic relations should aim at the realisation of those values. (hina) it