CROATIAN AMBASSADOR MEETS U.S. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Hina) - Croatia's ambassador to the United States, Miomir Zuzul, met aides to the US secretary of commerce on Wednesday to discuss further development of Croatian-US economic relations. The talks, held in the Croatian embassy in Washington, focused on joint energy projects and projects for road construction in Croatia, the embassy said in a statement. US officials William Ginsberg, Raymond Vickery and Lauri Fitz-Pegado expressed concern over the closure of the Croatian market for American products despite the clear interests of the US administration and companies. Zuzul said that the Croatian government and the Croatian market were interested in closer economic ties with the United States. The Croatian government supports US investments, he stressed. They also discussed the marking of an anniversary of the deaths of a US business delegation led by Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in a plane crash near Dubrovnik earlier this year. (hina) vm 050950 MET dec 96