Minister Gordan Jandroković participated in SEECP Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Sofia

The ministers reviewed the state of affairs in the region and welcomed the Joint Declaration on the Inception of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC), adopted the day earlier, 27 February 2008, at the final meeting of the Regional Table of the Stability Pact. The meeting also pointed out the need to maintain regional co-operation as an important instrument in overcoming the different positions derived from the most recent developments in the region, as well as the importance of regional co-operation for the stabilisation and security in South Eastern Europe, which contributes to the processes of integrating its countries into the EU and NATO.

In his speech to the participants, Minister Jandroković emphasized the importance of co-operation within the SEECP, which stimulates dialogue and enables the harmonisation of positions on the region’s outstanding issues. Croatia supports the RCC in its implementation of the regional co-operation’s priorities, which include the transport infrastructure modernisation, energy and economic co-operation, combating organised crime and corruption, and the enhancement of the SEE countries’ educational systems.

Bulgaria’s SEECP presidency published a communiqué from the meeting, commending the progress of the region’s countries in approaching the Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as the setting up of the RCC, led by its Secretary General, Croatian diplomat Hido Bišćević.

On the margins of the meeting, Minister Jandroković held numerous bilateral meetings: with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, and Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milošoski.