Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek, Russian and Bulgarian leaders agree on Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline agreement to be signed by end of

[02] Finmin eyes Greek, Korean business alliances

[01] Greek, Russian and Bulgarian leaders agree on Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline agreement to be signed by end of year

At the end of talks, the three leaders declared their intention to have an inter-state agreement on the implementation of the planned pipeline signed by the end of the year.

Karamanlis pointed out that every effort possible must be made to safeguard the transfer of energy to enable the needs of the world economy to be met. He also underlined the close cooperation between the three countries for the implementation of the pipeline and the further extension of this cooperation to the sectors of gas and electricity.

The prime minister also said that the pipeline will be yet another corridor for the transfer of Russian oil from the Black Sea, supplementary to the Bosporus, and its construction will be a strong starting point for the further widening of trade relations between the three countries.

President Putin said safe access to energy "is a guarantee for the development of our culture," adding that "the interests of the countries of origin must also be taken into consideration, as well as of the transporting countries and of the countries of consumption."

He pointed out that Greece and Bulgaria are reliable and old partners and referred to the possibility of the creation of big centres for storing, processing and transporting energy and that the energy sphere can become the motive power in relations between the countries.

President Purvanov said on his part that all realise the strategic character of the project that contributes to the differentiation of energy transfer paths, constitutes a guarantee of security in energy and in a general sense, and is economically competitive.

All three leaders placed emphasis on the implementation of the project and not on the individual terms set by each side.

President Putin said that his country "is not setting tough terms" and underlined that Moscow wants the implementation of the pipeline with its traditional partners, such as Bulgaria and Greece, reminding that the Baku-Cheihan pipeline was built, as well as the "Blue stream" pipeline, and warned that if the delay continues the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline will ultimately be sidestepped by other paths.

Karamanlis, who also held bilateral talks with Putin, said that excellent bilateral relations were confirmed, ways of widening relations further were examined and the closeness of views between the two countries on most regional and international issues was ascertained.

Asked about the strategic character of relations between Greece and Russia, Putin agreed that they have a strategic character and do not concern energy alone.

He stressed that there is ground for more balanced and qualitatively better trade and economic relations, military and technical cooperation and coordination between Greece and Russia in the international field, where their views coincide to a great degree.

Lastly, the Russian president underlined that with the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline and wider energy cooperation the position of the participating countries will be upgraded, given that they do not only have an opinion on the handling of European energy problems but have an influence on them with their policy and, at the same time, with the existence on their territory of storing, processing and transporting infrastructures they benefit from the taxes they receive.

[02] Finmin eyes Greek, Korean business alliances

"Korean companies can benefit to a high degree from operations in Greece, as the country's strategic geo-political position and its central role in the development of southeastern Europe stand as major advantages," Alogoskoufis said.

"Greece is no longer an isolated economy of 10 million inhabitants, but lies at the heart of a rapidly emerging region of 140 million inhabitants...Many major foreign enterprises have opted for Greece as their headquarters for business in southeastern Europe and the Middle East," the minister noted.

He added that Greek direct investment of 12 billion euros in less than a decade had contributed to progress and development in the Balkan economies.

The forum was arranged by the Federation of Greek Industry (SEB) to coincide with a visit to Greece by South Korea's president, Roh Moo-Hyun. Taking part are the Korea International Trade Centre and Federation of Korea Industries.

"Korea is an example of a country demonstrating that in economic competition, success does not depend on size but on dynamism. Our view of Korea is that it does not stand as a political threat but as an economic blessing," the head of SEB, Dimitris Daskalopoulos, told the forum.

Greek exports to Korea totalled 90 million US dollars in 2005, dominated by unprocessed tobacco, olive oil and marble.

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