Addressing a news conference after the talks, Lambrinidis said he was proud that Zagreb was the first stop on his tour of the capitals in the region which he would visit in the next few days, adding that he had insisted on it because he wanted to convey a message of great pride and satisfaction with Croatia's forthcoming EU membership.

Croatia has proven that it deserves to be an EU member, and Europe has sent a message to all countries in the region that if a country meets the membership criteria, it will join the EU, Lambrinidis said.

The two foreign ministers also discussed the economy, underlining the great potential for improving cooperation, notably in tourism, which is a very important industrial sector in both countries. The Croatian and Greek tourism industries are complementary and by cooperating in that sector, Croatia and Greece can enhance their advantages, it was said.

Jandrokovic thanked Greece and Lambrinidis for support to Croatia's EU membership bid, noting that Lambrinidis' support for Croatia's EU membership dated back to the time when he was Vice-President of the European Parliament.

He said that Croatia-Greece relations were exceptionally good and without any outstanding issues, underlining the close cooperation between the two countries in helping Southeast European countries draw closer to the EU.

Even though Croatia-Greece economic cooperation is good, there is room for improvement, notably in trade which in 2010 amounted to US$ 141 million, said Jandrokovic.

He noted that progress was also possible in tourism, saying that in 2010 around 30,000 Greek tourists visited Croatia.

Jandrokovic said Greek investors were welcome in Croatia and expressed satisfaction that a Greek consortium had been short-listed as one of five companies bidding for a concession to operate Zagreb Airport, wishing it success in the continuation of the bidding procedure.

Jandrokovic said he and his Greek counterpart had agreed that the Croatian-Greek committee in charge of economic topics should hold its third meeting as soon as possible, with the aim of encouraging investors and business people from the two countries to meet as often as possible.

Answering reporters' questions, Lambrinidis said both Croatia and Greece supported the EU integration of all countries in the region, including Turkey, on condition they met the assumed obligations.

The Greek minister said he and Jandrokovic also agreed that countries in the Middle East had a duty to promote stability by word and deed, and not foment instability.

Jandrokovic and Lambrinidis also exchanged information on what their countries were doing to help overcome the humanitarian crisis in Libya, with the Greek minister telling reporters that two planes with drinking water were sent from Greece to Tripoli today, in an operation coordinated with the European Commission office in Libya.