Croatian, Bavarian Premiers Open Munich Tourism Fair

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and his Bavarian counterpart Edmund Stoiber opened in Munich on Thursday the CBR tourism fair at which Croatia is this year's partner country.
 
The fair, which closes on Monday, gathered about 1,500 exhibitors from more than 70 countries. The number of visitors is estimated at more than 110,000.
 
Sanader and Stoiber also talked about political issues, with Stoiber voicing strong support for Croatia's accession to the European Union and NATO. In a joint statement to the press, as well as in a subsequent interview on Bavarian Radio, Stoiber voiced hope that Croatia, which he described as a classic Central European country, would join NATO next year and the EU in 2009.
 
He also voiced hope that the date of Croatia's accession would be made known during Germany's current six-month presidency of the EU.
 
After visiting the fair, the two officials held private talks which Stoiber said addressed the economy, technology and the common interests of Zagreb and Munich. Sanader said they used this opportunity to promote Croatia as the EU's 28th member country.
 
According to Croatia's statistics, German tourists accounted for the highest number of arrivals and nights last year, with more than 1.5 million Germans generating a little under 11 million nights, or 23.4 per cent of all nights in 2006.