The host of the meeting, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta told the press after meeting Slovenia's Alenka Bratušek and Croatia's Zoran Milanović that there were lots of opportunities for cooperation among the tree countries.

Letta said that the north Adriatic ports in all three countries should not compete with each other, adding that they could develop only by cooperating and competing together against large ports around the world.

The three prime ministers also agreed to set up a task force which will deal with energy and infrastructural projects in the north of Adriatic.

Letta said that the Slovenian PM met the management of the Venice airport today to discuss cooperation with the Ljubljana airport. He reiterated that Italy and Italian companies were very interested in privatisation in Slovenia.

The trio endorsed the idea of establishing a banking union in the EU, with Bratušek saying that it "should be realised as soon as possible, it must not remain just a dead letter".

Bratušek is convinced that Slovenia, Italy and Croatia will use the momentum provided by today's meeting to boost cooperation.

The prime ministers also expressed support to the Western Balkan countries in their efforts to join the EU, with Milanović saying that they would receive help on this path.

Letta stressed that the Western Balkans was of strategic importance for Italy, adding that today's meeting was a signal for the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto where to focus their interests.

The meeting also served as the launch of the "forum for dialogue and understanding", whose goal is to strengthen dialogue and cooperation among the three countries after Croatia's entry to the EU on 1 July.

"This forum is an opportunity to talk and together prepare for cooperation within the EU, in which Croatia wants to be an active member, not only an observer," said Croatian PM Milanović.

The countries plan to meet once a year as part of the forum, with Letta announcing the next meeting in Slovenia in March 2014.

The prime ministers also touched on global issues, in particular the crisis in Syria, condemning the use of chemical weapons in the country, while supporting a solution which would involve the United Nations.

Italy's plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the north Adriatic, which Slovenia opposes, was not discussed at the meeting, as this is a bilateral issue, according to Bratušek.

Bratušek and Letta reiterated that the matter was entrusted to the relevant ministers. "The ministers talked this morning and agreed that they will continue to talk," Bratušek said, while Letta added that the issue would be resolved in a friendly manner.