PORGES: CROATIA, TURKEY LAY FOUNDATION FOR FRUITFUL COOPERATION

ANKARA, Aug 27 (Hina) - Croatia and Turkey today laid a new foundation for very fruitful economic cooperation, Croatian Economy Minister Nenad Porges said in Ankara on Wednesday after meeting Turkish State Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelem. The two sides concluded that the trade, which reached about $65 million in 1996, did not reflect the actual possibilities and needs of the two countries. This particularly referred to their joint appearance on the markets of third countries. Porges said that Croatian companies should take advantage of "brilliant relations Ankara has with a number of Turkish- speaking countries of Transcaucasia and Central Asia." Porges said that the Croatian oil company INA and the Turkish state-run oil company could launch joint projects for oil and gas exploration. Porges drew attention to the huge possibilities of the transport of goods across Croatia to Central and Western Europe and Mediterranean countries. In this context, he stressed the importance of establishing a ferry service between Istanbul, Izmir or Mersin with some of the Croatian Adriatic ports. Porges and Yucelem also considered the possibility of cooperation between the free trade zones of the two countries. Turkey expressed a wish to be a partner country at Zagreb's Autumn Trade Fair next year. (hina) vm jn 271725 MET aug 97