CROATIA'S PRESENTATION AT "EXPO '98" ANNOUNCED IN ZAGREB

( Editorial: --> 7048 ) ZAGREB, Dec 9 (Hina) - Croatia will attend the EXPO '98 world exhibition in Lisabon between May 22 and September 30, 1998, for the first time since achieving independence. The exhibition, to include 140 countries, will center around the topic "Seas, Oceans - Heritage for the Future". Croatia's presentation will include the Croatian Exhibition, Croatia's National Day, and the Ships Festival, which will display gajeta Falkusa, a type of small ship which is Croatia's oldest shipbuilding and maritime heritage. According to the world exhibition's chief commissioner, Jose Torres Campos, next year would also mark the anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese seamen to India. The United Nations proclaimed 1998 as the year of the ocean, a synonym for connecting countries, peoples, traditions, cultures and customs. Croatia's presentation in Lisabon will cost 22 million kunas (USD 3.6 million). The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Pliva, Croatia's leading pharmaceutical company, will assist as sponsors. The director of the Zagreb Trade Fair and president of the EXPO '98 Croatian National Committee, Jurica Pavelic, signed the first sponsorship contracts with HGK director Nadan Vidosevic and Pliva's head of public relations, Marija Pejcinovic. (hina) ha jn 091648 MET dec 97