Have been flown into Zagreb for consultations with representatives of Norway and used the time also for a team meeting with heads of office from the region. Now planning a reunion with former colleagues, then last touches to Azerbaijan report, then an early night.

Interesting to see how much things have clearly moved on here – we lived in the city for eight months in 1998. One of my colleagues has just visited Greece, and commented that Croatia compares to it really favourably. Certainly the government representative – of a supposedly nationalist gvoernment – who addressed this meeting this morning looked to my finely-honed Northern Irish radar like he was probably a Muslim.

I reminded my hosts that next year will be the 100th anniversary of their country declaring independence from a larger neighbour with which it had been united in an unpopular union. The other guest speaker, who is Swedish, pretended not to be amused.

OK, must go now and prepare for more typing.