Turkey supports Croatia's efforts on the road to the European Union and is willing to cooperate so as to facilitate the two countries' efforts to accomplish that goal, Sezer said after meeting the Croatian head of state.

Croatia and Turkey launched accession talks with the EU on the same day and cooperation in that area will help both countries accomplish the goal of joining the Union, the two presidents said.

The two statesmen agreed that admission to the EU was a shared foreign policy goal of the two countries which have had good bilateral relations for
13 years.

Mesic thanked Turkey, which has been a NATO member-state for many years, for its support for Croatia's efforts to join the Alliance.

Mesic and Sezer said that the cooperation between the two countries was important for the promotion of peace, stability and good-neighbourly relations in south-east Europe.

The two presidents called for intensifying economic cooperation. They attended a ceremony of signing a memorandum of understanding between the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and the Turk Eximbank.

President Mesic is accompanied by a delegation of Croatian business people, who will take part in a business forum in the city of Izmir on Wednesday.

President Mesic will open Croatia's honorary consulate in Izmir.

The agreement between the Turk Eximbank and the HBOR defines main areas of cooperation and exchange of information in joint projects. The cooperation will be enhanced in the fields of joint insurance, export re-insurance and financing, and a more intensive exchange of the know-how and experience.

Trade between Croatia and Turkey in the first ten months this year totalled
277 million US dollars, rising by 43 percent from the same period last year.
Croatia's export totalled 56 million, and Turkey's exports came to 221 million.