There is no longer "brotherhood and unity" (the slogan coined in the Socialist Yugoslav federation), but there are lasting Croatian and Serbian interests which make cooperation necessary, Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) head Nadan Vidosevic said at a conference which brought together 70 Serbian business people and as many Croatian business people in Zagreb on Thursday.

Trade between the two countries, which reached a record high USD 1.2 billion in 2008, cannot register any major increases in the future, as the markets in both countries are open to goods from all parts of the world. Croatian and Serbian companies should therefore forge links between themselves in order to make joint ventures on third markets, notably the markets of the Non-Aligned countries, Vidosevic said.

The former Socialist Yugoslavia was a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and its companies had excellent references in a number of countries in the Arab world, Africa, South America, Oceania and among former Soviet Union countries, but we have not capitalised on that as much as we could have, the HGK leader said.

Admission to the EU is ahead of us, and only united with other former Yugoslav countries can we become a relevant factor on the economic scene of Europe and the world, he said.

The head of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Milos Bugarin, too, advocated development of cooperation between Serbian and Croatian companies through joint ventures, co-operatives, joint investment, etc.

Croatian Economy Minister Djuro Popijac and Serbian Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic agreed that there was potential for improving cooperation in the energy, agricultural, engine-producing, textile and timber industries and in the transport infrastructure.

Popijac said the Croatian government would try to remove all obstacles to investments by the Serbian business sector.

Milosavljevic also called on Croatians to invest in Serbia.

The AD Imlek dairy company's director-general Slobodan Petrovic said that Serbian entrepreneurs were launching a greenfield investment in the southern Croatian town of Sinj. The plant, worth between 7 and 8 million euros, will process some 100,000 litres of milk a day.