It is noted that our country holds last position in supply of body organs. This results in the death of people due to lack of transplants.

"It is a happy and special moment for me to take up the position of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for Greek living abroad issues, the most beautiful and tender part of Hellenism, pointed out Mr. Magriotis. In an era characterized by glo balization, and intensely colored by an international crisis, Greeks living abroad have a very important role to play. However they need our assistance during all these difficult days, and I'm sure we will succeed. A further honor, is that I will be given

the chance to work with the Council of Greeks Living Abroad (SAE) and with people in Thessaloniki, the base of Greeks living abroad, to give it the glorious visage it deserves".

Mr. Stefanopoulos will arrive at "Macedonia" airport tonight at 8pm, where he will be greeted by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, Prefect Kostas Papadopoulos, Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos, MPs and representatives of the authorities, wh ile a small military detail will also be present. The President of the Republic will be greeted by Mayor Papageorgopoulos, and a reply by Mr. Stefanopoulos will follow.

Mr. Stefanopoulos will stay in Thessaloniki until Sunday, for the military parade on Alexander the Great Avenue, after having lain down a wreath at the Iroho of the 3rd Army Corps. Over the weekend he will attend various exhibits and will be present at c hurch for the ceremonies in honor of Thessaloniki's patron saint, St. Dimitrios.

During his stay in Thessaloniki, Mr. Sasson will meet with Metropolite Panteleimon, Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, Secretary General of the Region of Central Macedonia Vassilis Valassopoulos, Prefect Kostas Papadopoulos, Mayor Vassilis

Papageorgopoulos, European MP Antonis Trakatellis, and the leadership of the European Community. He will also observe the military parade on October 28 as an official guest of the Greek state.

A promise to "put his back into it" was made by Mr. S. Vougias, who did not hide his anxiety "in not losing an hour in quickly understanding everyday problems which win the battle". He also added that his utilization signals the need to go along with the

Center and Left Wing.

From far away in Budapest, Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou, stated he was optimistic about the course of the new government, which he greeted as "an important decision on behalf of the Prime Minister, who wanted to give the government new dynamics".

It should be noted that the European Union recognizes the important roles of both Pakistan and Iran, on the issue of dealing with international terrorism, a fact evident in the constant visits to those countries by European leaders lately.

Mr. Papandreou will have a discussion on dealing with international terrorism, as well as the promotion of Greece-Iran bilateral relations, which are at a very point.

The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs will bring the message of willingness of EU member-states for strengthening relations between the EU and Iran, and the International Community's offer to support Pakistan.

Mr. Papandreou welcomed on board new deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Yiannitsis and new undersecretaries Yiannis Zafiropoulos and Yiannis Magriotis expressing his joy for the cooperation they will have.

He said that the Foreign Ministry has important priorities such as, the Greek EU presidency and the developments in the Balkans, the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue and the important developments taking place at an international level.

The issues under discussion will be international terrorism, on which a joint statement is expected to be adopted, as well as the organization's future after the latest developments and its enlargement.

She will promote the little known film she starred in "The secret life of a model" (1970) by Jerry Satzberg and her own creation, the short film "Yellow Bird".

The American movie-star will also take advantage of her visit to Greece to promote her plans for a film based on the life of famous Greek soprano Maria Callas.

The ceremony will take place at the Mela Building in Athens.

Mr. Papantoniou, who took over his new duties yesterday, is expected to arrive in Thessaloniki on Saturday afternoon. In the events that will take place until then, he will be represented by undersecretary of Defense Loukas Apostolidis.

Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos is also expected to arrive in Thessaloniki today. He is scheduled to stay until Sunday to attend the formal celebrations.

Meanwhile, the Hellenic Bank will host a delegation of Cypriots, who fought in WWII and will participate in the October 28 military parade. They were among the Cypriots, who joined the Greek army to fight alongside the Greeks against the Italian fascists .

Of the stocks trading today, 69 recorded gains and 258 had losses, while the value of 50 stocks remained unchanged.

The government was reshuffled as it was announced by the prime minister and is now called to execute its work in an effective way, a work that has vision and goals, said Mr. Protopappas. He also added that the necessary reforms will be made to safeguard the future of Greece and its people.

On the issues concerning the Olympic Games preparations, he announced that the Prime Minister will meet on Monday with Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, undersecretaries Tilemachos Hitiris and Nasos Alevras, as well as, 2004 Olympic Games general sec retary Kostas Kartalis.

The government spokesman added that the ministerial committee will meet with the participation of the responsible ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. However, in the case the responsible ministers have relinquished authority to undersecretari es then it is obvious that the responsible undersecretaries will be present in the meetings.

In a discussion Mr. Papandreou had with his Hungarian counterpart, Yannos Martoni, a common opinion was made clear that the new challenges on collective security that have been created by the threat of terrorism since September 11, must not become an obs tacle in the broadening of the European Union.

"We have a close cooperation, and today we decided to strengthen it, in order to help the stabilization of the Balkans and the European perspective", stated Mr. Papandreou after the meeting.

Mr. Papandreou completed his visit to Budapest with a meeting he had with the President of the Hungarian Socialist Party, which is in the opposition, Laslo Kovach.

In his greeting speech, Consul General of Greece in New York Dimitris Platis, sent the complete solidarity, support and help of the Greek government

In the conference will participate a Greek delegation made up by Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Finance officials, headed by Foreign Ministry European Affairs director Ilias Plaskovitis.

The goal of the conference is to confirm the political commitment of the countries in the region on the adoption of reforms and the strengthening of regional cooperation as well as, the international community's commitment to back this procedure. Also, t he community of donors will agree on the strategies and the Stability Pact regions that are regarded as top priority.

There will also be a discussion on the regional economic issues, the development of regional structure and trade, the growth of the private sector, as well as, democratization, human rights and security issues.

The Greek delegation, headed by Amarousion mayor Panagiotis Tanikos met with the Prime Minister of Serbia and the Ministers of Culture and Environment.

Almost 80% of the activities within the framework of the imminent Olympiad in Athens will take place in the region of Amarousion, while the investments made will exceed US$300 million.

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article