Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-04-21

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE TURKISH PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT ATHENS

[02] A NURSE HOSTAGE WAS RELEASED IN IRAQ BECAUSE SHE IS GREEK

[03] UKRAINIAN CONSULATE IN THESSALONIKI

[04] ORFANOS-IVANOV MEETING

[05] GAINS CONTINUE IN THE ASE

[06] KARAMANLIS' CONTACTS IN SARAJEVO

[07] ALOGOSKOUFIS MET WITH THE AMBASSADORS OF RUSSIA, SPAIN AND BRITAIN

[08] COUNCIL OF THE EU MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE IN LUXEMBOURG

[09] KARAMANLIS: COOPERATION WITH ALL BALKAN COUNTRIES

[01] THE TURKISH PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT ATHENS

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Athens in the near future. The announcement was made after the meeting the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey had in Sarajevo today on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the Southeastern European Countries.

In statements he made after the meeting, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis pointed out that he reiterated the known positions of the Greek government on Cyprus and gave a special emphasis to the issue of the strengthening of the Greek-Turkish relations, saying that both sides expressed the will to strengthen bilateral relations. The Prime Minister said that the European prospect of Turkey was also discussed.

On his part, Mr. Erdogan stated that in the meeting with Mr. Karamanlis he expressed Turkey's good will on the Cyprus problem, while it was also pointed out that there is a need for progress in bilateral relations.

In the Karamanlis-Erdogan meeting participated Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, Petros Moliviatis and Abdullah Gul.

[02] A NURSE HOSTAGE WAS RELEASED IN IRAQ BECAUSE SHE IS GREEK

A Greek nurse, who went to Iraq as a volunteer, was in the hands of rebels in Falluja for 10 hours. According to the Athens newspaper TA NEA, the dramatic 10 hours of Eleni Sotiriou began on Saturday. Eleni Sotiriou is a member of the non-governmental organization Doctors of the Heart that has brought to Baghdad and Falluja a total of 2.5 tons of medicine.

The nurse was kidnapped on the way from the hospital to the hotel where she was staying and after 10 hours of interrogation she was released by her captors after they became certain that she was Greek.

She told the newspaper that she explained to them what was her work in Iraq they apologized to her for the inconvenience and explained to her that unfortunately they have no other way to defend themselves except from kidnapping the allies of the Americans.

The nurse also pointed out that having lived the drama of many African countries from up close, as a veteran of volunteer missions since 1967, she believes that the tragedy in Iraq cannot be compared to any other.

[03] UKRAINIAN CONSULATE IN THESSALONIKI

Ukraine will open its first ever consulate in Thessaloniki and its inauguration will take place on Friday, April 23.

The inauguration ceremony will attend Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstantin Grisenko.

[04] ORFANOS-IVANOV MEETING

Greek Deputy Culture Minister Giorgos Orfanos, responsible for sports issues, met with Bulgarian Minister of Youth and Sports Vasil Ivanov.

They discussed issues concerning the Olympic Games in Athens and the preparation of the Bulgarian Olympic team, while they also agreed that in another meeting they will discuss the greater cooperation of the two countries in the area of sports.

After the meeting, Mr. Ivanov expressed certainty that Greece will host the best and safest Olympic Games of the past 104 years.

He also said that they discussed issues concerning those who will come to Athens for the Olympic Games via Bulgaria and assurances were given to the Greek side that Bulgaria will do everything possible to make them feel completely safe.

[05] GAINS CONTINUE IN THE ASE

Gains continued in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.76% at 2485.02 points, while the volume of transactions was at 147.4 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 98 had gains and 184 had losses, while the value of 117 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] KARAMANLIS' CONTACTS IN SARAJEVO

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis had bilateral contacts with leaders of Balkan countries in Sarajevo on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the Southeastern European Countries.

Mr. Karamanlis met with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Bosnia-Herzegovina President Suleiman Tihic, Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Croatian President Ivo Sanader, Serbia-Montenegro President Dragan Marovic and acting FYROM President Ljupco Jordanovski.

The Greek Prime Minister speaking in the Summit meeting referred to the common future of the countries in southeastern Europe and underlined that cooperation among the peoples in the region has to be based on the European values.

[07] ALOGOSKOUFIS MET WITH THE AMBASSADORS OF RUSSIA, SPAIN AND BRITAIN

Greek Minister of Finance Giorgos Alogoskoufis had separate meetings this morning with the ambassadors of Russia, Spain and Britain.

In the meeting with the ambassador of Russia Vdovin Andrey it was decided that a Greek-Russian one-day business conference is going to be held in Athens in the fall of 2004.

Mr. Alogoskoufis presented the government's intention to proceed with the establishment of a Greek house in Russia within the framework of the policy for the promotion of exports and tourism.

The Greek houses which will also open in Germany, France, USA, Japan, China and Britain will offer a complete picture of the Greek products and the tourist destinations in Greece, will organize exhibitions and in general, they will promote Greece.

In the meeting with Spain's ambassador Junco Bonet it was agreed that a Greek-Spanish one-day conference will also be held in Athens in the fall.

The Minister of Finance agreed with Britain's ambassador David Madden to proceed with the cooperation between the Greek and the British Ministries of Finance given the fact that the British have the know-how regarding the control of public spending.

[08] COUNCIL OF THE EU MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE IN LUXEMBOURG

Greek Minister of Agriculture Savvas Tsitouridis and deputy Minister of Agriculture Evangelos Basiakos had separate meetings and consultations with their counterparts within the framework of the first day of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture in Luxembourg. The first round of bilateral consultations with the EU Presidency and the European Commission was also launched.

Based on speculations, the circle of bilateral consultations will be completed today and the EU Presidency will present a compromise solution text late this evening, which will constitute a basis for further discussions that are expected to continue until late at night.

[09] KARAMANLIS: COOPERATION WITH ALL BALKAN COUNTRIES

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis expressed his will for cooperation between Greece and all neighboring Balkan countries, speaking in the 7th Summit meeting of the Southeastern European countries taking place in Sarajevo.

The Greek Prime Minister underlined that cooperation is a priority for his government and himself personally pointing out that cooperation should be based on a future founded on the common European values and not in the past

Mr. Karamanlis also referred to the situation in Kosovo condemning the disasters and vandalisms targeting cultural monuments, churches and religious sites during the recent incidents.

The Prime Minister welcomed FYROM's application for EU membership and congratulated Bulgaria and Romania for their NATO membership.

In conclusion, Mr. Karamanlis reiterated the EU commitment to keep the issue of the Balkans high on the agenda, clarifying that the effort of Greece toward this direction will be a dynamic one.

Meanwhile, according to information, the Turkish Prime Minister will probably visit Greece between May 5 and 7 as the guest in an international conference organized by The Economist.

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