CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER SESSION

ZAGREB, Aug 7 (Hina) - At a Thursday session chaired by vice premier Borislav Skegro, the Croatian government passed a decision on the establishment of the "Rijeka-Zagreb-Gorican Highway" joint stock company and the allocation of a concession for its management, the government's Communications Office said in a statement. The purpose of the company would be to finance, build, manage and maintain the Rijeka-Zagreb-Gorican highway and its auxiliary facilities, the statement said. The government also laid down a bill on the ratification of a contract on free trade between Croatia and Macedonia, signed in Skopje on 9 May 1997, and forwarded it to the Croatian parliament's House of Representatives for adoption, the statement said. Also forwarded to the parliament was a bill on the ratification of an agreement between Croatia and Slovenia on local border traffic and cooperation, it added. At a proposal of the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, the Croatian government accepted the 1997 Autumn Harvest Programme, the statement concluded. (hina) ha jn 071541 MET aug 97