Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-11-11

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Karamanlis, Koizumi discuss Balkans, investments and trade

[02] Gov't comments on latest round of opinion polls

[01] Karamanlis, Koizumi discuss Balkans, investments and trade

Karamanlis, who is in Japan on a four-day official visit, said he and Koizumi had discussed prospects for greater cooperation by the two countries in international fora. He also noted that the two countries were currently both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, stressing that this offered "a first-class opportunity to make cooperation closer in the future".

The Greek premier pointed to Japan's "extremely positive presence in the western Balkans," saying that the political and economic interests of the two countries provided margins for greater cooperation.

He also stressed that bilateral economic cooperation was currently below its potential for both countries, particularly for Greek agricultural products, shipping and tourism.

(Caption: Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, left, along with Japanese Premier Koizumi speak at a joint press conference in Tokyo on Friday. ANA photo/ G. Antoniou)

[02] Gov't comments on latest round of opinion polls

Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos told reporters that the first opinion poll results of the week, released on Sunday, gave ND a 2.5-percent lead over PASOK; another poll released on Monday put the difference at 2.4 percent, whereas two separate polls on Thursday reported differences of 3.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively.

"In four separate opinion polls, therefore, we see that three report a difference of between 2.4 percent and 3.5 percent," Roussopoulos said.

The smallest difference between the two major parties was given by the Metron Analysis firm.

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