Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] SE leaders call for upgraded regional security

[02] Greek, Turkish FMs to visit Israel, West Bank next week

[03] Adriatic & Ionian Seas Initiative meeting discusses maritime issues

[04] Exhibition of Greek architecture opens at Istanbul Polytechnic

[05] 2nd European Jazz Festival to be held in Athens

[06] Business tours of Turkey seen opening investment opportunities

[07] Everest takes La Pasteria chain to Cyprus

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Saturday

[09] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

[10] ASE rebounds to end week higher

[11] Anniversary of Lord Byron's death commemorated

[01] SE leaders call for upgraded regional security

BUCHAREST (ANA - Ch. Poulidou) -- The leaders of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece on Friday cited what they called a need for a more ?organised presence? aimed at upgrading security in the region, during their latest trilateral contacts here.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis arrived on Thursday in the Romanian capital for talks with the country's President, Ion Iliescu, and Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

?We agree on the fact that a more organised presence is needed to combat illegal immigration, weapons smuggling and narcotics trafficking; that a more organised presence is necessary for security in the Balkans,? Simitis told reporters.

In a later press release, it was announced that the three SE European leaders specifically discussed such threats to the region, underlining the importance of making fully operational a protocol for enhanced trilateral cooperation in combating crime, especially cross-border crime.

[02] Greek, Turkish FMs to visit Israel, West Bank next week

The Greek foreign ministry on Friday announced that Foreign Minister George Papandreou and his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem intend to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next week, if circumstances allow.

In a press release, Spokesman Panos Beglitis said the joint initiative by the Greek and Turkish FMs aims at contributing to efforts for a ''lifting of the impasse'' in the region and at jump-starting the Mideast peace process.

[03] Adriatic & Ionian Seas Initiative meeting discusses maritime issues

The Adriatic and Ionian Seas Initiative (AISI) representatives met on Friday in Greece and discussed maritime policy issues, education of sailors, maritime security and cooperation between ports of the region, according to a Greek merchant marine ministry announcement.

Currently, Greece holds the intra-governmental rotating presidency of the organization.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as representatives from Greece's and Italy's shipowners' unions.

[04] Exhibition of Greek architecture opens at Istanbul Polytechnic

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Greek General Consul Panayiotis Kalogeropoulos on Friday inaugurated an exhibition on 20th Century Greek architecture at Istanbul Polytechnic.

The exhibition was organised by the Greek Institute of Architecture in cooperation with the Frankfurt Museum of Architecture at which it was presented for the first time in 1999.

The exhibition will be open to the public until May 17.

The exhibtion has travelled to Thessaloniki, Paris, Athens, Cyprus and Rome within the framework of the events ''Primavera dell' architectura'', and recently to Ankara.

[05] 2nd European Jazz Festival to be held in Athens

The 2nd European Jazz Festival is to be held in Athens at Technopolis in Gazi from May 30 to June 2.

Jazz bands from 12 European Union countries will be taking part, while the event has been organised in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Athens, the Cervantes Institute and other foreign embassies and institutes in Athens.

[06] Business tours of Turkey seen opening investment opportunities

The head of the Greek consulate's economic affairs section in Istanbul, Haralambos Kounalakis, said on Friday that two recent tours of Turkey for Greek corporate representatives would help to create fresh opportunities for growth in business ties between the two countries.

''Turkey is of special interest to Greek investors and we will continue our initiative with the dispatch of business sector delegations that will allow Greek investors to have direct contact with Turkish counterparts,'' Kounalakis told the Athens News Agency.

On Thursday, officials of the Greek-Turkish Chamber of Commerce wound up a tour of four southeastern Turkish cities as part of a programme to inform businesses of investment opportunities in the two countries.

Also arranging the visit, the second of its kind, were the Greek consulate in Istanbul, under the aegis of the embassy in Ankara, and Turkey's Council for External Economic Relations.

On the last day of the trip, the delegation visited Adana, Turkey's sixth largest city. The area specialises in agricultural produce, mainly fruit.

On Wednesday, the officials toured, Gaziantep, a large city in southeastern Turkey, which processes farm products and manufactures industrial goods that are mainly destined for export.

''All four areas we visited were of special interest, presenting many opportunities for Greek investors who would like to place their funds in Turkey,'' the chamber's president, Panayotis Koutsikos, said.

He had previously stated during the trip that great interest had been shown by Turkish businesses in opportunities for alliances with Greek firms.

Economic ties between Greece and Turkey rose sharply in 2000 with trade totalling one billion US dollars.

[07] Everest takes La Pasteria chain to Cyprus

Everest SA, which is quoted on the Athens bourse, on Friday announced that it was expanding its La Pasteria restaurant chain to Cyprus using a franchising arrangement with a local catering group.

The first outlet in the island republic is to open in the next quarter of this year, and a second restaurant by the end of 2002, Everest said in a statement.

Under the 18-year contract, a total of five outlets will open in the first two years in urban and tourist areas, the statement added.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Saturday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.895

Pound sterling 0.619

Danish kroner 7.493

Swedish kroner 9.240

Japanese yen 116.8

Swiss franc 1.479

Norwegian kroner 7.664

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.410

Australian dollar 1.659

[09] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

Sunshine and cloudy spells are forecast in all parts of the country, which may turn to showers and short-lived storms from late afternoon, mainly in the centre and north. Winds northerly, light to strong, turning very strong in parts of the southern Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 8C to 18C; on the rest of the mainland from 10C to 21C; and in the islands from 13C to 20C. Mostly sunny in Athens with temperatures between 12C and 20C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 10C to 18C.

[10] ASE rebounds to end week higher

Equity prices ended the last trading session of the week with gains, reflecting renewed buying interest in blue chip stocks on the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index rose 0.83 percent to end at 2,221.49 points, with turnover an improved 84.4 million euros.

The Retail, Holding, IT Solution and IT sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (3.20 percent, 2.84 percent, 2.57 percent and 2.50 percent, respectively), while the Food-Beverage and Investment sectors suffered losses (0.68 percent and 0.49 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.95 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.03 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 0.58 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 217 to 93 with another 48 issues unchanged.

The general index ended the week with a net gain of 0.82 percent.

[11] Anniversary of Lord Byron's death commemorated

The 178th anniversary of the death of Lord Byron was commemorated on Friday with the laying of a wreath at the English poet and philhellenes statue outside Athens Zappeion Hall.

?To Byron of Greece and the world? read the ribbon on the wreath, placed by the Athens-based ?Committee for the Preservation of Lord Byron's Heritage?. The committees presidium along with the president of the Greek Byron Society again proposed that the anniversary of Lord Byrons death be designated by the Greek state as a ?Day of Philhellenism and International Solidarity?.

Several dignitaries, local officials, a culture ministry delegation, academicians, as well as a representative from the British embassy attended the ceremony to the Greek Revolutions enduring ?poet-hero?.

George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron, was born on Jan. 22, 1788 in London and died on April 19, 1824 in Messolonghi, western Greece. He died of fever and exposure while engaged in the Greek struggle for independence from Ottoman rule.

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