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Monday, 23 December 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-05-26Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Greek Premier Karamanlis concludes Australia tour with Darwin visitGreek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis concluded a six-day official tour of Australia on Saturday with a visit to Darwin where he met with Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin. Darwin has a Greek community of 10,000, of which about 70 per cent originate from the Greek island of Kalymnos. Karamanlis, who received a warm welcome by the Greek community, said in a brief speech that "my visit in this city marks the end of a very successful visit to Australia, during which we had the opportunity to reconfirm the historical bonds between the two countries, to further develop bilateral relations and meet with the Greek-Australian communities."Karamanlis thanked Australiaâs Hellenism, stating that "I want to confirm that upon my departure, I feel even more proud and more optimistic about the Greeks everywhere." He described as "very important" the Greek communityâs contribution "to the economic, social and political life in Australiaâs Northern Territory." The Greek prime minister reminded that the first Greeks from Kalymnos and Kastelorizo arrived in Darwin in the early 20th Century, saying that in the early 21st Century, distinguished Greek-Australians served in senior political posts, including in the position of governor and ministers in local government. "All these factors honor Greece in the great and friendly country which hosts you and makes us proud of all of you. Itâs particularly important that the bonds between modern Greece and the northern regions of Australia are being strengthened from generation to generation. The fact that Kalymnos had been twinned with Darwin since 1982 has symbolic but also practical importance. Itâs a firm basis of friendship and cooperation, which is continuously strengthened," Karamanlis concluded in his address. Martin later hosted a reception in honor of Karamanlis. At noon on Saturday, the Greek prime minister, who was accompanied by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and Deputy Foreign Minister Theodoros Kassimis, departed Darwin for Hanoi, Vietnam. Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. [02] PASOK leader addresses NGO's int'l meeting in GlasgowMain opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) leader and Socialist International (SI) President George Papapandreou addressed the 7th Annual World Meeting of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Glasgow, United Kingdom, late Friday night, on the theme "The relations of the society of citizens with political parties - Allies or Opponents?"The address by the PASOK leader and SI president was a continuation of previous moves by SI aimed at the development of relations with democratic political forces. Within this context, Papandreou had taken part in the founding congress of Italyâs Democratic Party, while already, SIâs relations with Indiaâs Congress Party and the USAâs Democratic Party have been promoted to a significant degree. In his speech, Papandreou said that "the present government in the United States of America undermines democracy with the manner with which the Soviet Union in the past undermined socialism." "Cooperation by political parties and political organisations with non-governmental organisations is necessary for changes to be advanced in the world. Together, we can change the world," the PASOK leader and SI president also stressed. He also referred to his experience as foreign minister and to the example of cooperation between Greek and Turkish NGOs "which acted as a catalyst in the improvement of the two countriesâ relations." He added that ?a similar example also exists in the Middle East where womenâs non-governmental organisations cooperate with corresponding Palestinian ones, while similar cooperation has also started in the Balkans.? Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of PASOK leader George Papandreou. [03] Athens Metro extended from Monastiraki to EgaleoThe operation of the extension of line 3 of the Athens Metro from Monastiraki to Egaleo began at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Until Monday, passengers will not pay a ticket. The Egaleo-Syntagma route will be covered in 7.5 minutes and it is estimated that it will serve 80,000 passengers daily.The Monastiraki-Egaleo line was inaugurated on Thursday by Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister George Souflias who stressed that the line must start operating immediately, something which occurred, given that all the test runs were completed successfully. Caption:ANA-MPA photo showing view of Athens Metro's Egaleo station. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |