Croatian President Mesič on an Official Visit to the Slovak Republic

President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesič was on an official visit to the Slovak Republic on 3 - 4 November 2005. An official welcoming ceremony at the court of the Presidential Palace and a short meeting of the presidential couples were followed by bilateral talks of the delegations of both parties. After the end of the bilateral talks both Presidents underlined the high quality of the relations between the two states and their closeness as a good promise of a successful cooperation in the future. In his speech, President Ivan Gašparovič emphasized the dynamic development of the Croatian economy. As he put it, it is an important prerequisite of the growth in the future, making the Croatia the best prepared countries of all Balkan states for acceding the EU. Moreover, he expressed the Slovak support to Croatia in its EU integration process. The presidential partners also discussed the question of future investments, including joint investments, in connection with the inevitable approximation of the existing bilateral contracts to the European conditions. In his speech, Stjepan Mesič acknowledged the frequent mutual contacts of the Presidents and members of government in the context of pre-acceding efforts of the Republic of Croatia, which is one of the international political priorities of Croatia. He valued the Slovak Republic as an example of integration success in economic and cultural terms. In this connection, President Ivan Gašparovič pointed out a possibility of joint investments of the Republic of Croatia and the Slovak Republic, including investments in third countries. He emphasized the internal performance of Croatia, mentioning the major project of building freeways using its own financial resources, which is a good proof that the country is strong enough to be able to fast succeed in meeting the EU accession requirements. Referring to the situation in south-east Europe, in particular in Kosovo, President Mesič said that all legitimate representative bodies of Serbia and Kosovo must together communicate and discuss. He added, however, that without the assistance of the European community the further development would not be possible, though he ruled out any forced solutions to the problems of the region. “Wars have come to end in this region. Every agreement must be reached at the table,” said the Croatian President. Regarding this issue, President Gašparovič mentioned a condition of enabling those citizens who were moved out from their homes by force to return. He also supported an idea of a common European assistance in solving the Kosovo problem. At the end of his delivery, President Mesič acknowledged, as an inspiration, the Slovak procedure and achievements in the acceding process of the Euro-Atlantic structures. He called it effective, fast and successful.