Jakarta, 14 Feb - President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia visited the ASEAN Secretariat on Thursday on the second day of his five-day state visit to Indonesia.
In his statement, President Mesic acknowledged ASEAN �as a significant factor in strengthening and developing both economic and political cooperation in the region.� He said that Southeast Europe was also trying to develop regional cooperation. He said that it would be �worthwhile to study more closely the ASEAN experience in the establishment of regional cooperation as well as the problems standing in its way.� He referred to �the political past� that made progress in regional cooperation in Southeast Europe difficult. A copy of his speech is attached.
ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo C. Severino, Jr. called the visit �historic� because the Croatian President is the first non-ASEAN head of state or government who visited the organizations� headquarters. Severino said that ASEAN looked forward to working closely with Croatia when the latter becomes a member of the European Union, which is a dialogue partner of ASEAN. Meanwhile, Severino expressed support for the development of bilateral relations between Croatia and the ASEAN member states.