INFRASTRUCTURE CO-OPERATION LIKELY BETWEEN SECI AND CROATIA

( Editorial: --> 4489 ) ZAGREB, April 3 (Hina) - The director of the US-brokered South-East European Cooperation Iniative (SECI), Victor Jackovich, on Friday ended his two-day visit to Croatia. Talks with representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the President's Office and the Economy Ministry discussed cooperation between Croatia and the SECI, namely projects for improving infrastructure at border crossings and building oil and gas pipeline networks in Croatia and the wider region, Jackovich told a press conference on Friday. The past year was devoted to discussing projects and implementation is expected to begin this year, he announced. Some of the countries involved in the projects will apply for a loan with the World Bank, Jackovich said. The Initiative was launched in 1996 by the United States in a bid to encourage trade and environmental cooperation between south-east European countries and facilitate their integration into Euro- Atlantic associations. However, little has been done since except for talks and discussions between various countries involved in the Initiative. Croatia has so far eschewed formal membership, preferring to avoid over involvement with a region to which it does not belong. It has agreed, however, to participate in individual projects it may find interesting. But at today's press conference, Jackovich included Croatia among Initiative members, prompting a volley of questions from reporters. Asked to elucidate this statement, Jackovich said the Initiative was not a "formal organisation or association" but a forum for experts to discuss regional problems. "Croatian representatives have been attending these meetings," he explained. "SECI is not a Balkan association," he added in an attempt to allay any fears of Croatia's being mixed up with Balkan countries. The SECI is made up of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Hungary, Moldavia, Romania and Turkey. "After SECI stopped insisting on formal membership, which Croatia does not accept, we have cooperated on particular projects, as was our intention from the beginning," a source close to the Croatian Government told Hina. (hina) jn as/mb 031950 MET apr 98