US TRADE SECRETARY VISITS CROATIA, BH, TO PROMOTE TRILATERAL TRADE

TRADE $ RELATIONSHIPSADE WASHINGTON, 9 July (Hina) - A visit of the US Trade Secretary Mickey Kantor to Croatia and BH is part of the the US Administration's efort to support peace in the region, stated the US Department of Commerce in Washington Tuesday. "Secretary Kantor's mission initiates the implementation of the Clinton's Administration's comprehensive commercial and investment development strategy for Bosnia and Croatia. It will enhance the the US private sector role in creating the market-driven economic growth that is necessary for lasting peace and stability." The strategy comprises four parts - the normalization of trading relationships, the integration of the US business community into existing US government reconstruction efforts, the enhancement of the US government advocacy support to US businesses in the region and the expansion of the US Commercial Service presence to disseminate and coordinate information to US firms about business opportunities in the region. During his visit to Croatia Kantor will aggressively advocate for over US dollars two billion infrastructure projects in Croatia, as well as on behalf of US business participation in reconstruction of BH, says the US Department of Commerce. The visit to Croatia will commence on Thursday in Dubrovnik with a private memorial service for the delegation that was lead by the former Trade Secretary Ron Brown. The visit will include individual meetings with Croatian PM Zlatko Matesa and BH PM Hasan Muratovic, as well as a trilateral meeting that will be ended by the signing of an understanding memo. In Dubrovnik Kantor will also address the economic development of the Dalmatian Coast, states the US department of Commerce. On Saturday in Zagreb the US Trade Secretary will have talks with Trade Minister Davor Stern. At the end of his visit to Croatia he will be received by the Croatian president Franjo Tudjman. The US delegations consists of representatives of 18 large American companies, with a combined annual revenue of US dollars 65 billion and 410,000 employees, as well as representatives of the OPIC (a US Administration agency for private overseas investments), the Agency for Trade and development (TDA), the Agency for International Development (USAID) and the mayor of Dayton, a city that late last year successfully hosted peace talks on BH. (Hina) mr/jn 092116 MET jul 96