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Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-03-28Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Balkans, Cyprus issue top agenda during FM Molyviatis' meeting with UN Secretary GeneralThe Cyprus issue, the situation in the Balkans - particularly Kosovo and FYROM, as well as Africa and the Middle East, dominated the discussion Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis had with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York on Monday.On the issue of Cyprus, Molyviatis and Annan confirmed the need for the island's reunification and estimated that all interested parties are in agreement on that point. The Greek minister, however, emphasised that the right conditions must be established this time around, in order to avoid a repeat of failed negotiations last year. As for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Molyviatis reiterated Greece's position that a mutually-acceptable solution must be found to the problem surrounding FYROM's use of 'Macedonia' as part of its name, so that the international community as well as FYROM and Greece can concentrate on the region's other problems which warrant attention. According to sources, Athens' views coincide with UN views regarding the importance of Kosovo fulfilling the necessary criteria before the relevant assessment report is finalised. Kosovo's final status will be determined based on the evaluation report. However, the European Union has insisted that Kosovo cannot return to its pre-1999 state. [02] Papoulias meets with Albanian President Moisiu in IoanninaNewly sworn-in Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with his Albanian counterpart Alfred Moisiu in the northwest lakeside city of Ioannina on Monday, a meeting that served as the former's first official contact with another head of state since assuming the presidential office earlier this month.Papoulias is scheduled to meet with the president of Bulgaria on April 8. Afterwards, the Greek president said he believed the talks were positive for the course of bilateral relations, ties he added were excellent. Moisiu echoed Papoulias' comments about excellent bilateral relations and noted that Greek-Albanian ties served as a model for relations of other Balkan countries. The next meeting between the two men is expected to take place in either Gjirokastr or Sarande, two towns in Albania's south. [03] Greece accepts leading role in OECD's plan to support SMEsGreece accepted a proposal by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the country to take a leading role in the organisation's activities aimed to abolishing hurdles facing Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in seeking access to international markets, a letter sent by Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas to OECD's deputy Secretary-General Dr. Herwig Schl?gl said on Monday.Greece's role will focus on participating in drafting of an international study by OECD and organising a high-level international conference on abolishing hurdles facing SMEs in gaining access to international markets. The conference will be organised in cooperation with Greece's Economy and Finance ministry. The Greek minister was the main speaker at a 2nd Ministerial Conference on SMEs, organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Istanbul in June last year. Sioufas recently received a letter from its Finnish counterpart Mauri Pekarinnen, in which he expressed Finland's agreement with a Greek proposal to organise a 6th Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Industry in Greece in autumn 2006. The event will be held in cooperation with Finland and the European Commission. [04] IOBE report calls for additional economic measuresA slowdown in economic activity after the Olympic Games was smaller than expected, with Greece still recording one of the highest growth rates in the Eurozone (4.2 percent on average last year from 4.7 pct in 2003), more than double the European average (2.0 pct), the Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said on Monday.In its quarterly report on the Greek economy, IOBE said consumer demand was the driving force of economic growth (consumption grew 4.0 percent last year) reflecting increasing demand for consumer loans, a development that overshadowed a slight slowdown in real available income in the country. IOBE expects this year's growth rate to slow for the second consecutive year, although it noted that investment prospects were uncertain due to international developments (high oil prices). The report said business climate in the country was cautious, with business expectations moving on average levels. There are signs of small improvement in the economic sentiment early in 2005, but only in the manufacturing sector, it said. In the construction and retail sectors, sentiment indices improved in January but fell in February, IOBE said. The Institute stressed that the country's fiscal situation maximized uncertainties. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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