Cablegate: Zagreb Weekly Activity Report - November 26, 2008

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SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - NOVEMBER 26, 2008

1. (U) MIT PROFESSOR SPEAKS ON NANOSTRUCTURES, HYDROGEN, AND
RENEWABLE ENERGY:
As part of an Embassy-organized IIP Speaker program, Dr.
Mildred Dresselhaus, a professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, spoke at the 17th Annual Energy Day
Forum in Zagreb on November 21. In her presentation, Dr.
Dresselhaus focused on the topic of promoting regional
renewable energy research and development. She summarized
the key observations of the 2008 Washington International
Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) and shared her own
perspectives as a researcher involved in several aspects of
the renewable energy field. In the two days prior to the
forum, Dr. Dresselhaus gave several seminars and met with
academics and the environmental committee of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Croatia. She and the other academics
discussed topics of nanostructures, thermoelectric materials,
and the hydrogen economy and identified potential areas for
future scientific cooperation. (SLitke)

2. (U) MORE ALLIES MOVING FORWARD ON RATIFYING CROATIA'S NATO
ACCESSION:
On November 24 the MFA reported that it received notification
about the decision of the Parliament of Norway to ratify
Croatia's NATO accession protocol. The same day, during PM
Sanader's visit to the Netherlands, the Dutch government
confirmed that Croatia's NATO accession protocol had entered
procedure in the Dutch Parliament. (PD'Amico)

3. (U) TAKEOVER OF LARGEST US INVESTOR IN CROATIA BY ISRAELI
FIRM NEARS COMPLETION:
On November 21, shareholders of U.S. Barr Pharmaceuticals
approved an acquisition offer from
Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. Barr is the owner of
Croatian Pliva Pharmaceuticals, making
it the single largest U.S. investor in Croatia. The
Barr-Teva deal will be worth approximately
$7.5 billion and should be completed by the end of the year.
Pliva has been one of three
principal subsidiaries of Barr, which operates in 30
countries and produces more than 1,000
products globally. (DWestfall)
Walker

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