Greece has contributed to the searches with two C-139 military aircraft and a "Super Puma" helicopter, and the US is using two helicopters, an aircraft, and a ship in the US fleet.

According to alternate Foreign Minister Tasos Giannitsis, Greece will introduce issues concerning society, the Lisbon strategy, financial progress, and the EU enlargement.

He also stressed that other issues to be discussed in Barcelona include, taking action for the facilitation of labor and the Euroarmy issue.

Mr. Khatami will arrive at "Eleftherios Venizelos" airport at 3.15pm. At 4.14pm, he will be meet with the President of the Greek Republic, Kostis Stefanopoulos, with whom he will have discussions followed by bilateral agreements. The agreements will conc ern customs matters, the executive educational programme, and a memorandum between the Public Natural Gas Company (DEPA) and the appropriate Iranian service on power issues.

At 6pm, the Iranian President will meet with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis at the Presidential Estate.

Subsequently, Mr. Khatami will have a meeting with Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou at the Intercontinental Hotel, at 8.15pm. It should be noted that Mr. Papandreou will have already met with his Iranian counterpart, Mr. Karazi, at the Foreign Ministr y.

Mr. Khatami's schedule for today will be completed with an official dinner held in his honor by the President of the Greek Republic.

Tomorrow, at 10.40am, he will take a tour of the archeological site of the Acropolis, while at 12 noon he will visit the Parliament, where he will meet with its President, Apostolos Kaklamanis, who will award him the Golden Medal of the Greek Parliament.

At 5.20pm a meeting will take place between the Iranian President and the Mayor of Athens, Dimitris Avramopoulos, where Mr. Khatami will receive the Golden Medal of the City. At 6.30pm, Mr. Khatami will speak at Pantion University.

On Friday morning, Mr. Khatami will have consecutive meetings with the representative of the Main Opposition Party, Dimitri Sioufa, the Secretary General of the Greek Communist Party, Aleka Papariga and the President of the Coalition of the Left, Nikos K onstantopoulos.

With his visit to the Archbishopric of Athens, at 10.40pm, and his meeting with the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, Christodoulos, the official three-day visit of the Iranian President to Athens, will be over.

President of the Republic Kostis Stefanopoulos expressed his great sorrow for the loss of the Cypriot people.

"The dearly departed, used his life from a young agefor the Cyprus cause, and with his political struggles expressed his desires for Cypriot Hellenism", stressed Mr. Stefanopoulos, and added that "Spyros Kyprianou, till his last moment, fought for great national causes".

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis expressed his deep grief for the death of the Cypriot former President, pointing out that his long-lasting efforts, contribution and work for the resolving of the Cyprus issue were of decisive importance.

"A close collaborator of Ethnarch Makarios, Foreign Minister for many years, and then President of the Cypriot Republic, he fought crucial diplomatic battles on all international podiums for the resolving of the Cyprus problem, for a free and united Cypr us, where both communities could live in harmony", stressed Mr. Simitis in his statements, and sent his warmest condolences to Spyros Kyprianou's family, the leadership, the staff and the friends of DIKO, and to the whole Cypriot people.

A telegram with his condolences was sent to the family of the deceased former President by honorary President of New Democracy, Konstantinos Mitsotakis.

"Losing Spyros Kyprianou, whose fighting spirit and fortitude in defending our national issue, is a loss for Cyprus, for Hellenism, for us all. At this hard time, I want to assure you all of my wholehearted support, and ask you to please accept my warmes t condolences", mentioned Mr. Mitsotakis in his telegram.

The frigate set off this morning from the Salamina port, with a crew of 216 officers, non-commission officers and sailors, including 2 women officers.

This latest technology frigate, is participating in the international campaign against terrorism and will patrol the Red and the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It's mission will last three months.

Before departing, the Prime Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina will attend a dinner in his honor, held by the US Ambassador, at the Ambassador's residence in Athens.

Greek Foreign Ministry International Political Affairs General Director, ambassador Anastasios Skopelitis characterized the meeting as positive and constructive, adding that they exchanged views.

Turkish Foreign Ministry permanent undersecretary, ambassador Ugur Zigial stated that the meeting was constructive and it will be repeated in Athens next April, clarifying that the talks concerned methodology as well as, the framework and the essence of the problem. He also stressed that the talks have no specific time limit.

Both sides agreed that there will be no detailed statements on the contents of the dialogue to preserve its effectiveness.

For the record, the Greek GDP growth rate in the fourth trimester of 2001 is much higher compared to the Euro-zone average.

In the Barcelona meeting, the European leaders will discuss the situation in the Middle East, while the Greek side will present Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou proposal for the solution of the Middle East issue.

Mr. Simitis will have the opportunity to present the Greek positions for the promotion of the joint foreign policy and the policy on defense, including the Euro-army issue. The situation in the Balkans is also expected to be discussed.

A main issue in the Barcelona Summit will be the social policy and the promotion of measures aimed at the improvement of competitiveness, economic growth and social cohesion.

Referring to the course of the European economy, Minister of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis stated that the new goal for Europe is to adjust its economy to modern demands, make it more competitive and increase employment.

Mr. Kaklamanis assured the Bosnian Prime Minister that the Greek Parliament backs the efforts of his country because it regards Bosnia as an integral part of the great family of European peoples and its place is in the European Union.

He said that through cooperation and joint effort we have to create the preconditions for the Europeans to stop viewing the Balkan states as a powder-keg and start seeing them as an integral part of Europe.

Mr. Lagumtzia thanked the president of the Greek Parliament for the firm support to his country's European orientation and expressed his excitement over the fact that the draft law on the reconstruction of the Balkans was being discussed in the Greek Par liament on the day of his visit.

Of the stocks trading today, 118 recorded losses and 173 had gains, while the value of 81 stocks remained unchanged.

Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that a main goal is to promote more effectively the existing bilateral cooperation on security issues, adding that the sectors with greater cooperation potential are the Greek and the European energy market as well as telecommu nications. Prospects are also favorable for bilateral cooperation in the banking sector.

Mr. Lagumtzia clarified that his government will secure the participation of strong businessmen and economic world personalities in the joint forum that will take place in April. In the forum will be called to participate representatives of companies fro m the sectors of telecommunications, insurance, natural gas and road networks.

Mr. Paschalidis stated that women make up 1/3 of the parliament deputies in Bulgaria and this is a proof of quality for Bulgaria's Parliamentary Republic.

Mr. Paschalidis and Ms. Michailova discussed the Greek program for the reconstruction of the Balkans and cooperation in inter-border issues and Ms. Michailova referred to the efforts made by Bulgaria to become a member of NATO and the EU.

The Greek minister invited her to attend the conference on the Balkans that will take place in Thessaloniki on May 22. He also invited her to the meeting of the EU candidate-states representatives that will be held in Thessaloniki in the fall to discuss the future of Europe.

Mr. Paschalidis had meetings with representatives of the political parties that are represented in the Bulgarian Parliament and proposed the establishment of a committee, made up of representatives of the four political parties that are being represented

in Parliament, to visit Thessaloniki. The date of the visit has not been decided yet.

During his three-day visit that was completed today, Mr. Paschalidis had meetings with the country's Prime Minister, the deputy Prime Minister, the Minister and the Undersecretary of Regional Development and Public Works, and the Minister of Sports.

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