Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-02-05

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Tsipras meets with Interior Ministers of France and Germany

[02] PM Tsipras' visit to Tehran a milestone, says Islamic Republic of Iran's Ambassador to Greece

[01] PM Tsipras meets with Interior Ministers of France and Germany

Receiving the two ministers, Tsipras said that the refugee crisis is a problem that concerns the whole of Europe. He also noted that Greece is bearing a huge burden and the number of people that die while attempting to cross the Aegean Sea is ruthless.

Tsipras said that on its part, Greece honours its commitments on the management of the refugee crisis and underlined that everyone must honour their commitments.

[02] PM Tsipras' visit to Tehran a milestone, says Islamic Republic of Iran's Ambassador to Greece

The ambassador stressed that the deliberations and the exchange of views between senior Iranian and Greek officials on political issues, regional crises and international issues can have beneficial effects for the international peace and safety. He also underlined the strategic position of Greece as a "gateway to the Balkans and Eastern Europe the fact that is close to the Middle East, it is a member of NATO, of EU and of the eurozone.

Moreover, he referred to cooperation possibilities between Greek and Iranian companies in the sectors of energy, pharmaceuticals, food, tourism, aquaculture, shipping and infrastructure construction.

Iran is willing to render Greece a gateway to the European Union, the secretary general of the Foreign Ministry George Tsipras on Friday said in an interview with ANA-MPA, referring to the aim of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit ti Tehran.

"The aim is to upgrade the political and economic relations between Greece and Iran. Sanctions on Iran have been lifted and now it comes out after a long period of isolation at least in the economic international community. Other countries such as Italy and Spain had hastened to Tehran before us in order to take advantage of the new era after the lifting of sanctions. This step of the government is on the right track and we hope to start having results from it," Tsipras underlined.

"Iran is the second largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa, it is generally a major power in the region, and a force for stability. Apart from the economic dimension, I think that it also has other dimensions that are positive for us. The are many areas where there can be cooperation, especially economic cooperation. What I want to say is that we are at the beginning of this relationship. Some steps have already been made," he added.

Tsipras noted that "the Iranians have special feelings for the Greek people, as the Greeks have for the Iranian people, so there are cooperation possibilities. There are two economies, which have a greater degree of complementarity, therefore there is ground for exports there - besides their investments in Greece. There is also the issue of tourist flows. Iranians, of relatively high income, travel to neighbouring countries. I think that some of them could be directed to Greece. This can become easier now, especially if we take the necessary measures for providing visas, etc. There is already a direct air link which was restored this year."

The full interview is available for subscribers in Greek at ANA-MPA website.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article