FM JANDROKOVIC'S EXPECTATIONS FOR JULY 1 MEETING

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000464 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD OSD FOR POPOVICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL CVIS MARR EFIN HR SUBJECT: FM JANDROKOVIC'S EXPECTATIONS FOR JULY 1 MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY ¶1. (SBU) In a meeting with the Ambassador on June 20, Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic said he was looking forward to his first to Washington as Foreign Minister as an opportunity to discuss both bilateral and regional issues. Jandrokovic discussed efforts to strengthen the bilateral economic relationship, such as the Southeast European Trade and Investment Conference in Vienna this fall, a planned trade delegation focused on Croatian food processing firms to the US later in the year, and the possibility of initiating negotiations on a double taxation treaty. He also noted continued progress in building military ties, stating that the Cabinet session later on June 20 was scheduled to approve the decision to forward the supplemental bilateral SOFA to the Croatian Parliament for final ratification, and noting how much he looked forward to being in Brussels on July 9 for the signature of Croatia's NATO Accession Protocol. Finally, he stressed continued Croatian interest in eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program, saying that the June 20 Cabinet session would also discuss ways to move forward on issuance of new passports with a chip holding biometric data, a key requirement for VWP. ¶2. (SBU) Jandrokovic added that he would be happy to discuss the situation in the region, commenting that Serbia, B-H and Macedonia still needed attention, while developments seemed very positive in Albania and Montenegro. He underlined Croatian support for Montenegro in particular, saying that "Montenegro deserves our help" and that the GoC felt Podgorica genuinely wanted to reach NATO and EU standards quickly. On Kosovo, he noted that establishing full diplomatic relations was the next step in developing Croatia's ties with the country, and said Croatia was committed to the step, but gave no timeline. He observed that the Kosovars had been curiously inactive in trying to build either political or economic ties with Croatia, with Croatian entrepreneurs being far more engaged in trying to do business than their Kosovar counterparts. Bradtke