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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-11-20Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Pavlopoulos addresses event on role of women in businessesInterior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Wednesday reiterated the government's commitment to promoting equal opportunities for women in the workplace."Facilitating women in the successful combination of family and working life is a priority for the government," Pavlopoulos said at an event on "Women in the modern business: a factor for high performance" that was held as part of the Operational Programme for Employment and Vocational Training. [02] Health Minister on public hospital debtsHealth Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos met on Wednesday with the board of the Panhellenic Suppliers Society of implantable orthopaedic materials and promised that the public hospitals' 900 million euros debt will be paid off in three instalments, the first of which will have been paid by the end of December.The suppliers stated after the meeting that they are satisfied. The Health minister said that the problem with procurements will be normalised as of the new year, when the new procurements plan will be implemented and which, among other things, anticipates that there will be no storage of consumable and other materials in hospitals over a long period of time, while high-cost materials, such as implantables, will be ordered immediately and will be received immediately when surgical units will be in need of them. Avramopoulos explained that with the functioning of the Procurements Committee an end will be put to phenomena which, until now, "harmed both the state and the wider business sector as well." [03] US ambassador visits firestriken Ilia perfectureUS ambassador Daniel Speckhard toured the prefecture of Ilia on Tuesday and participated in a ceremony at the Pyrgos fire station where the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) handed over 255 fire shelters to the local fire brigade.Speckhard highlighted the US federal government's assistance programme in Greece, stressing the importance of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America as an important link between the two countries, as well as the IOCC's "valuable and extensive contribution to the local victims of the devastating wildfires of the summer of 2007." "Not only Greek-Americans, but all Americans have warm feelings for Greece. In addition to the three million dollars that the Greek-Americans gave after the wildfires ... two million dollars came from the rest of the American people," the US ambassador emphasised. [04] 2nd Arab-Hellenic Economic ForumDevelopment Minister Christos Folias, addressing the 2nd Arab-Herllenic Economic Forum on the theme of "Partnership relations and investments opportunities for a promising future," referred to cooperation in such sectors as transportation, construction, services and the transfer of know-how, while with regard to know-how in particular, he said that cooperation can be extended to individual sectors such as farm production, fisheries, tourism and renewable energy sources.He assessed that a "window to opportunity" is being created for Greek businesses that are seeking a stable bridge of cooperation with the Arab countries. The minister focused on the importance of promoting joint business efforts between Greek and Arab businesses and said that "the new era in the global economy requires vigilance, strategic planning and speedy and coordinated action to enable, on the one hand, dangers to be avoided and, on the other, opportunities to be utilised." Deputy Foreign Minister Petros Doukas referred on his part to investments possibilities appearing in Greece and called on Arab investments capital to seize the opportunities that appear. Lastly, according to "Invest in Greece" board President Aristidis Simeonoglou "Greece is no longer an isolated economy of 10 million inhabitants. It lies in the heart of a dynamically developing region with 140 million inhabitants." Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Development Minister Christos Folias Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |