Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-09-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] EMPHASIS ON DEVELOPMENT

[02] GREEK ASSISTANCE TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

[03] PROTEST RALLIES IN THESSALONIKI

[04] FOREIGN MINISTER MOLYVIATIS ON TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS

[05] EAB-FINMECCANICA COOPERATION AGREEMENT

[06] GREEK-ITALIAN UNDERWATER NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

[07] MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE CHINOOK CRASH VICTMS

[08] THE PRIME MINISTER VISITED THE ANA-MPA PAVILION IN THE ITF

[09] KARAMANLIS: ON THE WAY TO CHANGES AND REFORMS

[01] EMPHASIS ON DEVELOPMENT

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis put an emphasis on the development of northern Greece in his speech on the occasion of the inauguration of the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair last night.

We lay the foundations in the effort to meet the common demand expressed by the people namely, a better life for all Greeks, underlined among others the Prime Minister who is scheduled to visit the ITF exhibition grounds this morning and later at noon he is going to preside over a meeting of local production forces representatives while in the evening he will present the priorities of the government's economic policy in the dinner to be given in his honor by the International Trade Fair management.

Mr. Karamanlis with his speech continued the show of unreliability given both by him and his government, stated main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK spokesman Nikos Athanasakis.

Mr. Athanasakis has probably forgotten the big fat words spoken by PASOK but the Greeks still remember them very well and mostly the people of Thessaloniki and northern Greece, responded government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos.

[02] GREEK ASSISTANCE TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis characterized the Greek effort for the economic support of the third world countries and those in the Balkans as impressive in statements he made today during his visit to the Foreign Ministry and International Development Cooperation pavilion in the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.

According to figures he provided, the overall Greek assistance to developing world countries in 2004 exceeded the 400 million euros mark, 50 million of which came from the Foreign Ministry in cash.

He also reminded that the 550-million-euro program for the economic support of the Balkans is already being implemented (National Plan for the Reconstruction of the Balkans).

Mr. Molyviatis stated that for a country like Greece this is a very impressive contribution to the efforts aimed at supporting the economic growth of third world and developing countries.

The Foreign Minister also referred to the contribution of the Foreign Ministry to the overall government effort for the development of the country. He stated that within that framework the reorganizing and upgrading of the Foreign Ministry in Thessaloniki takes place to contribute to the efforts aimed at improving the coordination and organizing of economic activities in northern Greece.

[03] PROTEST RALLIES IN THESSALONIKI

Big protest rally in front of the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos at the center of Thessaloniki is organized to take place this afternoon by the Greek confederation of labor unions, GSEE, and the association of public employees unions, ADEDY, for the promotion of the workers' demands while, at the same time, another protest will be held at Thessaloniki's port by labor movement PAME.

Thessaloniki opens its arms and hosts major events as well as the everyday anxieties of the people, stated ADEDY President Spiros Papaspiros.

The security forces personnel held a protest rally in front of the White Tower monument in Thessaloniki yesterday, while the rally held by the ARIS football club fans at the ITF grounds was rather quiet.

Discreet security measures in the effort to maintain order were announced by Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis.

[04] FOREIGN MINISTER MOLYVIATIS ON TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS

I hope that everything will go smoothly, responded Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis to a question on how the situation will develop by October 3 when Turkey's EU accession negotiations will get underway.

Mr. Molyviatis visited the Foreign Ministry and the International Development Cooperation agency pavilion in the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair. He told reporters that the Foreign Ministry participates in the overall effort made by the government for the country's progress and prosperity in its own way, not only abroad but domestically as well.

He said regarding the efforts made domestically that the Foreign Ministry has cooperated with HELEXPO for the greater success of the ITF and contributed in its own way to the great and impressive increase in the number of countries and companies participating in this year's exhibition.

Within the same framework, stated Mr. Molyviatis, the Foreign Ministry is reorganized and upgraded in Thessaloniki to better coordinate and organize economic activities in northern Greece.

[05] EAB-FINMECCANICA COOPERATION AGREEMENT

The Hellenic Aerospace Industry SA, EAB, signed an agreement with Italian Finmeccanica concerning subcontracts for the construction of aircraft components. The agreement was signed within the framework of the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.

According to the agreement, EAB will undertake a 300-million-euro project in the next three years sealing this way the intention of both companies to cooperate in specific sectors of mutual interest such as aerostructures, upgrading and altering airplanes, satellite and space systems, etc.

The agreement is placed within the framework of the EAB goals for strategic alliances with leading companies in the aerospace sector and is the sixth agreement of strategic importance it has signed.

The agreement was signed on behalf of EAB by its president Theodoros Damianos and its chief executive officer Tassos Philippakos, while on behalf of the Italian company by its vice-president Giuseppe Maresca. The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Defense Spilios Spiliotopoulos, Minister of Development Dimitris Sioufas and Italian Deputy Minister of Development Mario Valducci.

[06] GREEK-ITALIAN UNDERWATER NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

The inter-state agreement in support of the construction of the Greek-Italian underwater natural gas pipeline will be signed in Rome on November 4, according to Minister of Development Dimitris Sioufas who inaugurated the Ministry of Development pavilion in the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair. The Italian Deputy Minister of Development Mario Valducci was present in the inauguration ceremony.

Mr. Valducci conveyed the interest of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the expansion of bilateral cooperation in sectors beyond energy, such as, new technologies, stressing that this is a sector that could strengthen considerably the role of Thessaloniki.

Mr. Sioufas referred to the work done by the Ministry of Development and stressed that it has three goals: strengthen infrastructure for healthy entrepreneurship, create friendly business environment in the sectors of energy, trade, manufacturing, services etc. and protect consumers.

He referred to the moves made during the past few years and stressed that the basic goal for 2006 is for Greece to stop being oil dependant and develop renewable sources of energy, according to a decision reached by the cabinet.

Later, the Minister of Development inaugurated the pavilion of the Greek oil company, EKO.

[07] MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE CHINOOK CRASH VICTMS

Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria is visiting the monastic community of Mount Athos since this morning and tomorrow he will officiate in a memorial service at Porto Koufo in Sithonia, Chalkidiki in northern Greece on the occasion of the first anniversary of the tragic Chinook accident that killed all 17 people on board among them the then Patriarch Petros of Alexandria.

The Patriarch of Alexandria arrived at the Mount Athos capital, Karyes, this morning where he was formally received by the Holy Community. The reception ceremony was held in an emotionally charged atmosphere because the late Patriarch Petros of Alexandria together with other 16 people were on their way to Mount Athos for a formal visit when the accident happened.

The memorial service will be held at noon tomorrow at the site where a monument with the names of the 17 victims of the crash will be erected in the presence of representatives of local authorities and the victims' relatives.

After the memorial service, the Patriarch and all those present will board a Coastguard ship and go to the sea region off the coasts of the Sithonia Peninsula where the military helicopter crashed and cast wreaths in memory of the victims.

The Patriarch of Alexandria will be proclaimed honorary citizen of the municipality of Toroni within the framework of the memorial event.

[08] THE PRIME MINISTER VISITED THE ANA-MPA PAVILION IN THE ITF

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis visited the pavilion of the national news agency, Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency, in the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair this morning.

He was briefed on the services offered by the two news agencies, which are on the verge of unification, and mainly on the Balkan News Bulletin which is already in operation as well as the multimedia news soon to be established.

The Prime Minister, who was escorted by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis, congratulated the general directors of the two news agencies, ANA's Giorgos Tampakopoulos and MPA's Spiros Kouzinopoulos, and wished them success.

[09] KARAMANLIS: ON THE WAY TO CHANGES AND REFORMS

Greece's big bet is fiscal reform with a strong development prospect and the government is determined to win it, underlined Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in the meeting he had with the managements of the two Thessaloniki International Trade Fair companies.

Mr. Karamanlis stated that the government will support the ITF institution and called on the two ITF companies to set high goals.

The big bet is fiscal reform with a strong development prospect. The country must become competitive because for many years it had not produced, exported or invested as much as it ought to. And this bet has to be won. This is the main message of this year's ITF inauguration, stated the Prime Minister. He also added that one of the keys to the success of the major strategies and national goals is the extraversion of the economy stressing that ITF can give a boost to exports.

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