ZAGREB (AFP) — US President George W. Bush is to visit Croatia in two weeks, after a NATO summit at which the Balkan country is expected to be invited to join, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Bush's April 4-5 visit was a confirmation of Croatia as an "essential factor in ensuring a lasting peace, stability and cooperation in central and southeastern Europe," said a ministry statement.
During his stay in Zagreb, Bush is to meet his Croatian counterpart Stipe Mesic and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
The visit will be the second made to Croatia by a US president since the former Yugoslav republic proclaimed independence in 1991.
Bill Clinton made a brief stop in Zagreb in 1996.
Croatia, expected to receive an invitation to join NATO at its summit April 2-4 in Romania, is also hoping to join the European Union by 2010.
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