Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-08-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] Grevena mushrooms, a sweet treat

[02] Support for businesses active in Libya

[01] Grevena mushrooms, a sweet treat

The region is known for the more than 2,600 species of wild mushrooms that grow there, many of them edible, and for the plethora of local dishes featuring them, as well as an annual Mushroom Festival.

A Mushroom Society has also been set up, which informs the public about the area's mushrooms and how to cook them.

Whether a hobby or profession, mushroom picking is part of the daily life of Grevena. Indeed, wild mushrooms are an important source of revenue for Grevena, with many locals involved in the trade, while there is even a specialised local taverna that features dishes with more than 100 wild species throughout the year.

Considered a select delicacy, some of the local wild mushrooms have a market value well above that of black caviar.

Mushrooms are widely known for their use in a plethora of recipes, as main dishes or side dishes.

Grevena residents, however, have developed innovative recipes for the use of mushrooms as sweet treats. Mushroom liqueur, mushroom loukoumi and mushroom spoon sweet are just three representative alternatives.

Mushroom Festivals are frequently held in Grevena, with visitors running in the tens of thousands.

The next one, the 9th Panhellenic Mushroom Festival, will take place in the village of Ziaka on November 4-5, with professional chefs from abroad planning to take part.

Approximately 5,000-6,000 varieties of mushrooms grow in Greece.

[02] Support for businesses active in Libya

Greeting representatives of businesses active in Libya, chiefly in the energy and construction sectors, Lambrinidis said that "the foreign ministry will seek to support your presence in Libya".

Lambrinidis noted that the restructuring of the Libyan economy is necessary both for the growth and democratisation of that country and for stability in the wider region, and made it clear that Greece must and will have a dynamic presence in the formulation of the so-called "day after".

He also noted that Greece is one of the first countries to have established diplomatic contact with Benghazi, with the presence over the past months of Greek diplomats who are in contact with the National Transitional Council.

Greece, the foreign minister stressed, is ready to reopen its embassy in Tripoli when the conditions allow.

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