BELGRADE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Croatia has made great progress on the path to NATO membership and it can hope to receive positive signals at a summit of the alliance in Riga, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in the Croatian capital Zagreb on Thursday.

    "The summit in Riga at the end of November will not be about enlargement, nor will invitations be distributed to new countries, but I am certain that NATO member-countries will give Croatia and the region a positive signal regarding membership of the alliance," Scheffer told reporters after talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.

    "Joining NATO is based on efficiency and not on a summit or an invitation," Scheffer said, adding that when it came to efficiency Croatia could only be positively assessed.

    He said there was still work that needed to be done, primarily in strengthening public support in Croatia for its bid to join NATO, along with the continuation of reforms and the fight against corruption.

    Sanader reiterated that Croatia's two priorities in foreign policy were membership of NATO and the European Union (EU).

    "For us, NATO represents a community that defends the same values as the EU. That is the community of countries that Croatia wants to and must be in," Sanader said.

    Croatia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace Program and it is hoping to join the military alliance by 2008.

    Earlier on Thursday, Scheffer also had talks with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.

    "Joining NATO is in the interest of our security, the protection of certain values, and the most favorable solution for Croatia is to realize both objectives," Mesic said. Enditem