Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic has said that she will meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on March 21 to discuss Croatia's stabilising role in the region, its civilian engagement in the countries where it has deployed peacekeeping troops and other issues.
"The meeting with the US Secretary of State is very important for Croatia because it comes less than three months from the stepping into office of the new government," Pusic said in an interview with the Jutarnji List daily of Monday.
The US government considers the region of Southeast Europe important and wants to have there a partner that would understand the US position and regional relations and pursue policies "without a hidden agenda", Pusic said, adding that Croatia "can offer its partnership" to the US.
She went on to say that Croatia had a valuable experience in building state institutions in the process of accession to the EU and was "willing to share it with others."
Pusic said she would invite Clinton to this year's Croatia Summit, which will focus on "the transfer of Croatian experiences in building modern state institutions in the post-conflict period". She added that those experiences would benefit not only Southeast Europe, but also South Mediterranean countries, notably the Maghreb.
"We expect all northern African countries to attend the Croatia Summit," she said.
She went on to say that at her talks in Washington she would present a project for Croatia's civil presence in the countries where Croatian troops serve as part of NATO forces, for example in the education of women in Afghanistan.
She said that her talks in Washington might also address the ratification of Croatia's Treaty of Accession to the EU by the member-countries.
Asked about possible US help in case the ratification was stalled by some countries, Pusic said that "we should solve our problems on our own", expressing hope that Croatia "will not need any special help."
The talks in Washington are also expected to address the issue of Croatia's inclusion in the US visa waiver programme, which Pusic discussed at a recent meeting with Clinton's deputy William Burns in Zagreb. Burns said then that the US government would do its best to cancel visa requirements for Croatia which he said had made significant progress and become a model to other countries in the region.
