Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-04

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, S. Korea sign cooperation accords in maritime and tourism

[02] Bulgarian president arrives in Athens

[01] Greece, S. Korea sign cooperation accords in maritime and tourism

The South Korea President arrived in Athens on Sunday afternoon for a three-day official visit at at Papoulias' invitation, heading a large delegation of Korean officials and businesspeople.

Upon arrival at the Presidential Mansion, the two Presidents inspected an honour guard, in the presence of foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, merchant marine minister Manolis Kefaloyannis, and tourism development minister Fani Palli-Petralia.

The meeting between the two Presidents, which was also attended by Bakoyannis and S. Korean foreign and trade minister Ban Ki-moon, was sealed with the signing of two agreements.

An agreement on seaborne transports was signed by Kefaloyannis and S. Korean minister of maritime and fisheries Kim Sung-jin, while the second agreement, on tourism cooperation, was signed by Palli-Petralia and Ban.

Papoulias said that the signing of these two important agreements would strengthen the already borad institutional framework for the further development of bilateral cooperation between the two countires, adding that the relations between Greece and S. Korea were "excellent".

"The accords we signed help in the establishment of a model of mutually beneficial cooperation in sectors of high importance in both countries, the S. Korean president told reporters after the meeting, expressing expectatins for the development of cooperation in the sector of technology as well.

The two Presidents discussed the "major regional issues", and Papoulias briefed Roh on the situation in the Balkans, Greece's relations with its neigbouring countries, and developments in the Cyprus issue.

Roh, in turn, briefed Papoulias on the situation in the Korean peninsula, and the two Presidents agreed that the problem with North Korea must be resolved with peaceful means, and within the six-part framework that has been agreed.

Roh expressed admiration for the role played by Greece in favour of stability in the Balkans, and underlined the common goals of the two countries regarding the preservation of peace and regional cooperation. Goals, he said, which were of particular significance due to Greece's membership in NATO and its seat on the UN Security Council.

The S. Korean president further thanked the Greek people for their contribution in the Korean War with the despatch of a military corps, noting that the Greeks "shared in our effort".

Roh also invited Papoulias to visit S. Korea, aimed at the further reinforcement of bilateral relations and the friendly ties between the two countries.

Papoulias expressed hope that Greece's economic, political and geographical advantages will attract investments from S. Korea, and wished Roh "every success", while he also wished "peace and prosperity" for the Korean people.

[02] Bulgarian president arrives in Athens

Purvanov met with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias shortly after his arrival.

"Today may become a historic day if we manage to do a good job," Purvanov said before entering the Presidential Mansion for his meeting with Papoulias.

He said the political volition existed, but added that "some steps need to be taken by the executive authority".

Papoulias said today was a momentous day for himself, as well, because the immense effort for construction of the pipeline had commenced during his own term as foreign minister.

He also expressed hope that the procedures would be completed quickly, by the end of the year, so that materialisation of the ambitious project could commence.

"You are the living history of this plan," Purvanov told Papoulias.

Earlier, Karamanlis conferred with foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis and development minister Dimitris Sioufas ahead of the three-way meeting.

Sioufas told reporters after the talks that if things developed smoothly, today could be considered a historic day, adding that the goal was to reach an interstate agreement.

If an interstate agreement is signed, construction of the long-awaited pipeline will begin in end-2006.

Greece, Bulgaria and Russia signed a political agreement for the cross-border pipeline, budgeted at approximately 700 million euros, on April 13, 2005 in Thessaloniki. The 285-kilometre pipeline to carry Russian oil from Burgas in Bulgaria to Alexandroupolis in northern Greece has an estimated investment cost of 750-800 million US dollars with an annual capacity of 35 million tonnes of oil. It will supplement a sea route through the Bosphorus for transportation of the product in the region. It is anticipated that the pipeline will forge a new outlet for Russian oil and for oil from the Caspian Sea to Europe and America.

An estimated 35-50 million tons of crude oil would flow through Alexandroupolis in end-2008, while Greece will profit between 30 and 50 million dollars annually from the transportation of oil via the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, according to 2005 estimates.

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