MUNICH, 17 Feb (Hina) - The Croatian Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic and the Bavarian Minister of Economy, Traffic and Technology, Otto Wiesheu, signed a joint statement on cooperation in the area of road
infrastructure in Munich on Monday.
MUNICH, 17 Feb (Hina) - The Croatian Reconstruction and Development Minister
Jure Radic and the Bavarian Minister of Economy, Traffic and Technology,
Otto Wiesheu, signed a joint statement on cooperation in the area of road
infrastructure in Munich on Monday. #L#
According to the statement, Croatia and Bavaria will support the
continuation of construction of the highway Phyrn-Nuernberg-Linz-Graz-
Maribor-Zagreb and they will insist that the European Union accept the
highway as one of priority directions.
The two sides will also work together with the aim of securing capital
for the completion of an unfinished section of the Phyrn highway, running
through Croatia. The capital should be provided by the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB) and
other European and Bavarian banks.
The two sides also agreed to include Austria and Slovenia in the
completion of their sections of the highway. Bavaria would support Croatia's
efforts in order to help it obtain loans amounting to 300 million German
marks for the preparation of completion of other roads, the statement said.
'Croatia has to construct 2,000 km of highways and perform many other
infrastructural operations in order to transform its overall economy in line
with tendencies of the Western world', Minister Radic told a press
conference which was also attended by the Croatian Foreign Minister Mate
Granic and the Bavarian Minister of Economy, Traffic and Technology, Otto
Wiesheu.
'Croatia is not asking for help, it asks for and offers partnership',
Radic said.
Bavaria's Wiesheu said that Bavarian-Croatian relations would focus on
those areas in Croatia which are to develop at the quickest pace, one of
them being the country's tourism, for which it was important to have good
roads.
'We interpreted the Croatian Government decision to buy Airbus planes
as their wish to be part of Europe, to integrate into Europe and to
strengthen that integration, especially in the sector of economy', Wiesheu
said.
Foreign Minister Granic said that Croatia appreciated Bavaria's and
Germany's support in European integration processes and integration
processes within Central Europe.
'Croatia wants to be open for German capital', Granic said.
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171745 MET feb 97