Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-09-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Serbia-Montenegro president Marovic meets with PM Karamanlis, receives Gold Medal of City of Athens

[02] PM addresses National Greek Trade Confederation

[03] African development conference held in Athens

[01] Serbia-Montenegro president Marovic meets with PM Karamanlis, receives Gold Medal of City of Athens

No statements were made after the meeting.

Marovic, who is on an official visit to Greece at the invitation of Greek President Karolos Papoulias, held talks with his host on Wednesday on the EU and NATO prospects of the Balkan countries, the future of Kosovo, bilateral relations and international affairs.

He was also presented with the Gold Medal of Value of the City of Athens on Wednesday by Athens mayor Dora Bakoyannis.

[02] PM addresses National Greek Trade Confederation

Karamanlis said our era is one of great opportunities, as well as of pressures, and for this reason interventions made so far are not enough. He added that many problems do not suit the country and its society and the goal is for longstanding claims by the commercial world to become a tangible reality soon.

Speaking during the event, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas sent a message to those standing in the way of the creation of a new framework for trade, saying that "the implementation of the laws concerns all."

He outlined changes and reforms to strengthen and support trade and business, referring to institutional interventions which modernise trade and to policies on taxation, incentives for development and the access of small and very small businesses to financing.

[03] African development conference held in Athens

"Greece succeeded in increasing its development aid towards Africa and we hope that this upward trend will continue in 2005," Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis told conference attendees.

In the past year, Greece donated �1.8 million in humanitarian aid and �1.1 million in development aid to Africa.

Stylianidis acknowledged that the international community's efforts to fight poverty in Africa have fallen short of expectations.

But he referred to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' pledge to the United Nations Security Council and the UN's plenary session that Greece is more than willing to contribute to the fight against poverty worldwide and to support Africa's struggles for a better future.

According to Stylianidis, Greece gave �1 million to regions affected by the tsunami in 2004, with a major portion going to Somalia, Republic of Niger and west Africa.

"We do not want charity from the developed world; we want investment and development," Dapo Oiwule, head of the London-based Centre for African Policy and Peace Strategy (CAPPS) said.

He asked that Africa be represented on the UN Security Council in light of the organisation's reforms.

ELIAMEP Director General Theodore Couloumbis said that Africa's problems can be witnessed everywhere.

"Africa is in New Orleans, it's in the Balkans. Africa is all around us," he said, emphasising the extent to which Africa is in need of aid from the rest of the world.

Other speakers at the conference included ELIAMEP Research Director Thanos Dokos and Sotiris Moussouris, former assistant to the UN Secretary General, and British ambassador to Greece Simon Gass.

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