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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-06-05Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] President Papoulias receives Governor-General of New ZealandPresident of the Republic Karolos Papoulias had a brief meeting on Monday with Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Silvia Cartwright, who is on an official visit to Greece accompanied by her husband. The meeting was held at the Presidential Mansion in the presence of the spouses of the two leaders.President Papoulias told reporters after the meeting that he outlined Greeceās views on European and world problems as well as on the Cyprus problem, a problem that concerns the European Union, the Commonwealth and the international community and which it was imperative that it be resolved based on the European principles. President Papoulias also referred to the excellent relations shared by the two countries and their common struggle against Naziism, through which they forged strong friendship ties. The memory of the Battle of Crete that took place with the participation of New Zealanders is still vivid and serves as a ?reference point?, stated President Papoulias, on the occasion of the recent celebrations commemorating the event and the visit of Dame Cartwright to Crete before arriving in Athens. Papoulias referred to the important role the dynamic Greek community in New Zealand plays in the countryās economic and cultural scene. He also referred to New Zealandās developmental contribution to the Pacific region and praised its innovative stance toward the environment on the occasion of the World Environment Day celebrated today. The New Zealand Governor-General stated that the talks they had were very pleasant and spoke about the bonds of friendship shared by the two peoples, using warm words. Dame Cartwright also referred to the year-long "live and work" youth exchange programme being examined by the two sides, which expected to contribute to the strengthening of bilateral friendship ties. Referring to relations with the EU, the Governor-General of New Zealand stressed that she appreciates Greeceās stance. Foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis also had a meeting Monday with Dame Silvia Cartwright, at a downtown Athens hotel. No statements were made to the press after the half-hour meeting. [02] Gov't on Turkish air force exercise, Bakoyannis visit"We consider that Turkey will act along the lines of a country that is interested in its European prospects," Greek government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said on Monday, in response to questions concerning a planned military exercise by Turkey's Air Force that will coincide with a scheduled visit by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis to Turkey later this week.The spokesman also pointed out that the Turkish exercise had been officially announced. Commenting on a report in the newspaper "Kathimerini" that Greece and Turkey had come close to signing a memorandum for referring the Aegean continental shelf issue to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2003, meanwhile, the spokesman said that no information to this effect had been received by New Democracy's government, nor was it found in foreign ministry files. [03] ASE aims to promote single trading platform in the regionThe Greek stock market is closely monitoring developments in the international stock market industry before finalizing its partnership plan with neighbouring markets with the aim of creating a single trade platform in the region, ASE chairman Spyros Kapralos said on Monday.Addressing an Hellenic-Chinese Business Forum on ?The restructuring of the Greek market in an international environment?, Kapralos said the first successful acceptance of a partnership plan was the creation of a single trading platform with the Cyprus Stock Exchange, currently on pilot operation and expected to be fully operational soon. Kapralos said the Athens Stock Exchange, in cooperation with the Athens News Agency, were developing a joint website with economic and financial news. ?We are trying to participate in subsidized EU programmes to transfer know-how to Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean. We have already completed two such projects with the capital markets of Serbia and Slovakia and currently working with a corporate governance project in Egypt,? Kapralos said. He stressed that ASE would focus on promoting remote membership, introducing new modern products such as ETF (exchange-traded funds) and to list ocean-going shipping companies in the market. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |