Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-05-23
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, May 23, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ASIA FORUM GETS UNDERWAY IN THESSALONIKI
[02] GREEK PRESIDENT TO VISIT CANADA THIS MONTH
[03] POST-GRADUATE STUDIES FOR FYROM PROFESSORS AT ATHENS U.
[04] DYNAMIC MIX: TURKEY SUBMITS FLIGHT PLANS
[05] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON ASIA FORUM
[06] ASIA FORUM PRESIDENT: OUR AIM IS DEVELOPMENT
[07] GREEK FM SPEAKS TO BBC ON GRECO-TURKISH RELATIONS
[08] GREECE, EU'S CHEAPEST COUNTRY IN FRESH PRODUCE
[09] STATE TO RULE ON ID CARDS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH EU
[10] REPATRIATED ARTISTS, SCIENTISTS, CENSUS UNDERWAY
[11] CONFERENCE ON PARTHENON SCULPTURES IN ATHENS
[12] DEEP REFORMS ARE BEING PROMOTED IN THE ASIA FORUM
[13] A 20% INCREASE IS EXPECTED IN THE TRADE BETWEEN GREECE AND
VIETNAM
[14] LOSSES OF 0.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[15] SIMITIS: THERE ARE NO DIFFICULTIES IN THE COURSE TOWARD THE
EMU
[16] TURKISH LOCAL ADMINISTRATION DELEGATION IS HOSTED BY THE
THERMAIKOS MUNICIPALITY
[17] ASIA FORUM: TRADE WARS SLOW-DOWN THE COUNTRIES' DEVELOPMENT
[18] UNACCEPTABLE AND PROVOCATIVE THE "TIME" REPORT ON GREECE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS OF ATHENS IS ON A VISIT TO ROMANIA
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ASIA FORUM GETS UNDERWAY IN THESSALONIKI
In the presence of delegates from dozens of countries, the
five-day business and exhibition conference titled "Asia Forum"
got underway in Thessaloniki today.
The forum, which aims at further boosting Eurasian economic
cooperation, will promote multilateral business ventures and
investments, as well as strengthen the tourism sector through the
development of new strategies.
Focusing on international cooperation and trade development,
today's first thematic section is titled "Problems and
opportunities of regional trade and development of exports in
Asian countries" and will be addressed by the chairman of the
Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation
Zheng Zhihai.
The chairman of India's Exporting Organizations Federation
Sharad Kumar Saraf will also address the forum, to be followed by
Korea's International Trade Association CEO Bell J. C. Park.
Also among today's speakers are Vietnam's trade undersecretary
Luong Van Tun and the chairman of the Trade Committee of the
Philippines' Trade and Industry Chamber Valentin Khoe.
Today's second section will focus on Eastern European
countries and among the keynote speakers are the vice president of
the Russian Association of Manufacturers and Owners Sergei M.
Bekov and the alternate secretary general of the Economic Chamber
of the Czech Republic; it will close with an address by Ion Pop
who will represent Romania's Trade and Industry Chamber.
Matters pertaining to the Mediterranean and the Middle East
will also be addressed today, as speakers from Marocco and Iran
(Nabila Ouazzani and A.N. Khamousi, respectively,) will take the
podium.
The fourth section will focus on trade and exports promotion,
as well as liberalization and protectionism. Among the keynote
speakers are India's Jayant Bhuyan and Poland's Han Bielawski.
Today's session will conclude with a section on
"Trade Relations with the European Union".
[02] GREEK PRESIDENT TO VISIT CANADA THIS MONTH
President of the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos,
accompanied by Foreign Minister George Papandreou, will visit
Canada at the invitation of the country's General Governor Adrien
Clarkson, from
President Stephanopoulos is May 27 to June 2. scheduled to
meet with the country's Greek expatriate community leaders, at the
sidelines of his official meetings with Canada's state leadership.
Expected to arrive in Ottawa on May 27, the President will
participate in a Greek Orthodox Liturgy in the city's cathedral on
May 28, while on May 29 he is to meet with Mr. Clarkson.
The Greek president, accompanied by a 30-member delegation of
Greek businessmen, will also visit Toronto and Montreal.
[03] POST-GRADUATE STUDIES FOR FYROM PROFESSORS AT ATHENS U.
The University of Athens is offering five positions for post-
graduate studies and three positions for visiting professors from
FYROM within the framework of an agreement between the
universities of the south-eastern European countries.
The candidates from universities in Skopje will be tested in
history, sociology and culture on May 29.
[04] DYNAMIC MIX: TURKEY SUBMITS FLIGHT PLANS
Turkish jets entering the Athens Flight Information Region as
part of the NATO military exercise "Dynamic Mix", will provide
flight plans in advance, albeit to the Alliance, after the Greek
Defense Ministry unequivocally stated that Turkish military
aircraft which fail to file flight plans will be intercepted.
During "Dynamic Mix", NATO's land, air and naval forces will
come together under the Alliance's new structure for the first
time, employing the new regional command centers at Larissa in
central Greece and the nearby town of Tyrnavos .
In addition to Greece and Turkey, the exercise features the
participation of Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, the United
States, Britain, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Portugal.
Greece is participating with four frigates, four missile
boats, two submarines, two tank carriers, 64 aircraft, the 2nd
mechanized infantry division and the 33rd mechanized brigade.
Turkey will have a company of marines (150 men), four jeeps,
two trucks, two frigates, two missile boats, two submarines, an
oil tanker and a tank carrier. It will also participate with
aircraft.
[05] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON ASIA FORUM
Thessaloniki is being transformed into an international
center of the overall Balkan region, according tot he Minister of
Macedonia-0Tyrace George Paschalides who spoke on the sidelines of
Asia Forum's inauguration ceremony.
Mr. Paschalides stated that the process for the application
of Greece's plan for the reconstruction of the Balkans will get
underway by the summer. The said plan is budgeted at GRD180
billion.
Moreover, the Minister stated that Thessaloniki is gradually
assuming its role and is in need of a strategic plan on behalf of
the state.
Thessaloniki's mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos also hailed the
city's leading position in Southeastern Europe and added that
Thessaloniki can "spread its wings" as far as Asia.
Furthermore, Mr. Papageorgopoulos said that the Municipality
is supporting these initiatives and referred to the friendship
protocol signed between Thessaloniki and a Chinese province.
[06] ASIA FORUM PRESIDENT: OUR AIM IS DEVELOPMENT
Cooperation among governments, institutes and individuals
expedites economic development and concurrently contributes to the
perseverance of peace, according to the president of Asia Forum
Mike Nikolinakos.
Addressing Asia Forum's inauguration yesterday, Mr.
Nikolinakos stated that the Forum's aim is to establish, in all
the participating countries, a significant project which would
promote imports, investments and, overall, economic development.
He underlined the Forum's intent not to remain idle in mere
talk, but to actually materialize business ventures through the
workshops.
Lastly, the Forum's president referred to India's expressed
desire to organize the next Asia Forum.
[07] GREEK FM SPEAKS TO BBC ON GRECO-TURKISH RELATIONS
The next step in Greek-Turkish relations will be
collaboration within the framework of the Papoulias-Yilmaz accord
for the establishment and development of Confidence Building
Measures (CBMs) between the two countries, Greece's Foreign
Minister George Papandreou stated in an interview with BBC radio.
He stressed that relations between the two neighbors have
entered a new phase, "a phase wherein we proceed to the
enforcement of the mutual decisions which have been documented in
nine agreements", while, he added, there is also cooperation in
the area of Turkey's efforts to enter the EU.
Mr. Papandreou stated that the next step to follow will be
the development of CBMs and possibly other measures that will
lessen tensions in bilateral relations and will promote good
neighborliness.
As such, he added, "the logic of peaceful cooperation will
allow for the examination of problems such as the continental
shelf in the Aegean, or problems such as the Cyprus issue, which
of course is not a bilateral problem, but an international one,
under a different light, and I hope that we will soon reach their
resolution."
The Greek FM also referred to the Cyprus issue and the third
round of proximity talks that is set to begin in July.
"We all want the Cyprus issue to move ahead. From that point
on the question is to what degree will there be a response from
the Turkish-Cypriot community, especially from Rauf Denktash, but
of course, Turkey itself has been contributing to this direction
lately."
[08] GREECE, EU'S CHEAPEST COUNTRY IN FRESH PRODUCE
Greece is the cheapest country among the European Union's
member-states in a variety of commodities, ranging from fresh
produce and fruits, to ass transportation and telecommunications,
vehicle use, cosmetics, paper goods, jewelry, travel goods,
heating and electricity, according to an annual report released by
the European Commission.
The report, released yesterday, rates the progress made by
the EU's member states in promoting the domestic market
regulations.
According to the report, Denmark is the most expensive
country within the EU, with Portugal being the cheapest.
Disparities prices between the two countries reach the 177-percent
mark.
[09] STATE TO RULE ON ID CARDS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH EU
Prime Minister Costas Simitis is expected to rule on the
identification cards issue tomorrow, during the "Premier's Hour"
in Parliament, where he is expected to announce that the
individual's religion will not be among the listed data.
According to the Athens daily "Ta Nea", the Premier will
argue that Greece has to abide by European Union standards in
regards to human rights.
Moreover, the paper reports that Mr. Simitis, working under
the advisement of his legal counselor George Papadimitriou, is
expected to make two things clear: First, the roles of the State
and Church are wholly distinct, as the Constitution provides, and,
second, the identification cards are a matter that concerns solely
the government which is responsible for and accountable to the
Greek people.
[10] REPATRIATED ARTISTS, SCIENTISTS, CENSUS UNDERWAY
A state-wide census of repatriated artists and scientists is
presently being conducted by the General Secretariat of Greeks
Abroad, in cooperation with the European Community Fund, within
the framework of the European Program "Combating isolation from
the job market".
The census, which will last until May 31, is conducted with
registration cards submitted at the country's prefectural offices,
and bureaus supporting repatriated Greeks.
[11] CONFERENCE ON PARTHENON SCULPTURES IN ATHENS
Legal experts and archaeologists will examine the prospects
of the Parthenon Marbles' return to Greece, during an Athens-held,
international conference titled "The restitution of the Parthenon
Marbles and the EU - an historical, cultural and legal approach".
Officially inaugurated last night, the ceremony featured a
taped message from United States First Lady Hilary Clinton, who
expressed the wish that the conference will facilitate the return
of the Parthenon Sculptures to their "home".
The two-day conference is organized by the Center of European
Research and Studies Ioannis Kapodistrias and is held under the
auspices of the ministries of culture and press.
[12] DEEP REFORMS ARE BEING PROMOTED IN THE ASIA FORUM
The Asian countries are at the starting point of the effort
for their timely adjustment in the globalized economic environment
as it was made clear today, first day of the ASIA FORUM Conference
held in Thessaloniki under the auspices of the Greek government
with the assistance of the ministries of foreign affairs,
development and national economy in cooperation with the
ministries of merchant marine, transportation and communications
and Macedonia-Thrace.
The Asian countries are trying to make more flexible the
state structures and modernize their institutional framework in
order to secure among others their membership in the World Trade
Organization, WTO. However, in spite of the efforts made so far to
attract foreign capital foreign investments remain small in most
countries of the region, partly because of the 1997-1999 economic
and monetary crisis.
Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic
Cooperation chairman Jheng Zhihai referring to the agreement
signed last Friday by China and the European Union expressed the
belief that his country will be a member of the WTO before the end
of the year. This development, said the Chinese official, will
increase the volume of foreign investments estimated today to be
US$613 billion corresponding to 340.000 foreign interest
businesses. In the following years, said Mr. Zhihai, foreign trade
will increase by 7.5% annually reaching US$800 billion in the next
decade, while the GDP will be doubled by 2010 reaching US$2
trillion.
The WTO membership is at the top of Vietnam's priority list
and its government prepares a draft law offering incentives to
foreign investors, while it also prepares the ground for tax
reforms, according to trade undersecretary Luong Van Tu speaking
in the ASIA FORUM. The country gives a special emphasis to the
strengthening of trade relations with the European Union and its
exports are expected to increase by 20% in the following years.
The government of Korea gives a special emphasis to the
attraction of foreign investments and promotes a policy that will
help the country adjust to the globalization needs, according to
International Trade Association, KITA, general director Mr. Bell
J.C. Park. The government promotes a wide spectrum of
privatization within the framework of which 13 state businesses
have already become privatized, while other 19 will be partly
privatized in the following years.
The need for a joint monitoring mechanism that will limit the
chain reaction risk related to the currency revaluation in the
Asian countries, was pointed out by India's Exports Organization
Federation chairman Sharad Kumar Saraf. He praised the role
Thessaloniki can play for the development of the Euro-Asian trade
because of its port and its dominating place in south-eastern
Europe stressing however, that the continuous drop in the value of
the Euro has a restraining effect to the strengthening of the
Asian-EU relations.
The belief that there is a huge change in the Euro-Asian
economic and trade relations in the past few years was expressed
by CEPII deputy director Michael Fouquin stating
characteristically, that India and China could become the new
centers of development for the world economy. He also clarified
that the Euro-Asian cooperation will become even stronger in the
next few years as the European Union will take a series of
measures in 2005 aimed at limiting protectionism.
ASIA FORUM chairman professor Marios Nikolinakos clarified
that the necessary framework for the strengthening of the Euro-
Asian cooperation will be formed by next fall through the creation
of a non profit organization, the ASIA FORUM Center, and
additional institutions that will contribute to the cooperation of
European and Asian businesses that share common interests.
[13] A 20% INCREASE IS EXPECTED IN THE TRADE BETWEEN GREECE AND
VIETNAM
The volume of trade transactions between Greece and Vietnam
will show an increase of 10-20% this year, according to statements
made to Macedonian Press Agency by Vietnamese trade undersecretary
Luong Van Tu on the sidelines of the ASIA FORUM 2000 Conference.
However, in spite of the upward trend bilateral trade remains
limited as last year it did not exceed the US$20 million mark.
The Greek investments in Vietnam are in an infantile state as
not one of the 2.000 foreign interest investment projects in the
country was made by Greek businesses. Mr. Luong Van Tu stated that
one of the sectors in which the two countries can cooperate is
shipping, while tourism also offers a fertile ground for the
development of bilateral cooperation. The Vietnamese official
stated that Greece has a considerable know-how and experience in
the tourist sector that can offer to Vietnam helping the country
to exploit the existing tourist resorts in the best possible way.
[14] LOSSES OF 0.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Small losses of 0.42% were recorded in the Athens Stock
Exchange today and the general index was at 4.672,23 points, while
the volume of transactions was at satisfactory levels at 216
billion drachmas.
All secondary indexes recorded losses and the offer tendency
expressed during transactions was absorbed mainly by liquidation.
[15] SIMITIS: THERE ARE NO DIFFICULTIES IN THE COURSE TOWARD THE
EMU
There are no difficulties in the course toward the EMU,
stated prime minister Kostas Simitis after the meeting he had with
president Kostis Stephanopoulos in Athens today to brief him on
the current political developments and especially on economy
issues.
Referring to the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus
issue, prime minister Simitis stated that Greece hopes that Ankara
will undertake initiatives to reach settlements that will
consolidate even more the cooperation in the region.
Finally, regarding the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he
expressed the certainty that the problems will be overcome.
[16] TURKISH LOCAL ADMINISTRATION DELEGATION IS HOSTED BY THE
THERMAIKOS MUNICIPALITY
A 40-member Turkish delegation headed by the mayors of
Silivri, Selibasa, Kuburgaz and Gelaliye is hosted by the
municipality of Thermaikos in Thessaloniki within the framework of
the efforts for the strengthening of relations and cooperation on
issues of culture, sports and environment between the Greek and
Turkish local administrations.
Mayor of Thermaikos Giorgos Kariotis stated to MPA that his
wish is the twinning with one of those Turkish municipalities. It
should be noted that the people in the municipality of Thermaikos
come from the same regions with the visiting Turkish delegation.
[17] ASIA FORUM: TRADE WARS SLOW-DOWN THE COUNTRIES' DEVELOPMENT
The trade wars that erupt from time to time bear risks for
the world trade, while at the same time, they are restraining
factors in the development of the Asian countries, stated Iran's
Chamber of Trade, Industry and Mines president Mr. A.N. Khamoushi
speaking in the ASIA FORUM taking place in Thessaloniki.
Mr. Khamoushi made a special reference to the role the World
Trade Organization is called to play in backing the developing
countries, pointing out that the world trade trend is in conflict
with the existing protectionist mechanisms. Referring to the
developing countries' access to the Internet he said that it is
regarded a luxury, stressing that the exchange of information for
the development of infrastructures in the Asian countries is
necessary.
On Iran, he stressed that measures for tax exemptions are
being promoted, while privatization and regional cooperation are a
priority and measures are being adopted for the attraction of
foreign capital in the country.
Head of Morocco's Center for the Promotion of Exports
technical assistance department Ms. Nabila Quazzani focused on the
advantageous geographical position of her country and presented
certain elements of its economy.
She pointed out that 57% of the Moroccan exports are textile
and construction materials, while the country's main trade partner
is the European Union with 75.6% followed by the United States
5.3% and Africa 4.8%.
The need for new technologies for the development of the
Asian countries in order to meet the challenges in the
international environment was stressed by Turkish foreign ministry
bilateral economic relations director Ercument Enc, adding that
the application of new technologies is a useful tool in the
restructuring of labor relations. He also expressed the view that
changes in the government policies are necessary for the promotion
of the use of the new technologies.
[18] UNACCEPTABLE AND PROVOCATIVE THE "TIME" REPORT ON GREECE
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas characterized as
unacceptable and provocative the report published on the US
magazine "TIME" according to which, Greece is not a safe country
because of the rise in the phenomena of violence.
Mr. Reppas underlined that such a report hurts Greece's
interests directly in view of the tourist period and stressed that
the people in Greece are more safe than anywhere else in the West.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS OF ATHENS IS ON A VISIT TO ROMANIA
Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece is on a
four-day informal visit to Romania since Saturday.
Archbishop Christodoulos was warmly received by Romanian
Patriarch Theoktistos and by the Romanian Orthodox Christians
estimated to be 87% of the country's population. Addressing the
faithful Archbishop Christodoulos congratulated them for
preserving their faith.
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