ZAGREB HOSTS MEETING WITH SECRETARY-GENERAL OF BERN UNION

ZAGREB, May 14 (Hina) - Representatives of export-loan agencies from 22 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Arab countries convened in Zagreb on Monday to meet the secretary- general of the Bern Union, Anne van't Veer. Such meetings are held twice a year and their goal is cooperation and exchange of information among representatives of new export loan agencies which are not yet members of the Bern Union. The host of the latest, three-day meeting is the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR). A seminar on small and medium businesses is scheduled for May 16. The meeting is held in Sheraton hotel and has pooled about 50 delegates, including representatives of the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Opening the meeting, Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister Slavko Linic stressed the importance of export for the national economy and of Croatia's integration into international institutions. Secretary-general van't Veer told reporters the number of inquiries in the Bern Union about Croatia were indicative of an increased interest in the country among potential investors. The Bern Union is an international association of loan and investment insurers established in 1934. It has 48 members from 40 countries. Its basic task is to advance the international acceptance of healthy export-loan and investment insurance general principles, and to maintain discipline in international trade crediting conditions. According to International Monetary Fund data, the Bern Union insures more than two thirds of global export, with annual figures revolving around $40 billion. The HBOR has been a full-right member since September 1998. (hina) ha