Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-02-02

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] PAPANDREOU'S INTERVIEW ON THE CNN

[02] STOCK EXCHANGE REPRESENTATIVES' MEETING IN ATHENS

[03] OPINION POLL ON CORRUPTION

[04] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING

[05] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS IS IN SYRIA

[06] FIVE THOUSAND BOOKS TO GJIROKASTRA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOANNINA

[01] PAPANDREOU'S INTERVIEW ON THE CNN

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in an interview on the CNN television network on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in New York, referred to the developments on the Cyprus issue, the efforts to combat international terrorism and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Mr. Papandreou expressed satisfaction with the progress of the talks on Cyprus, characterizing it as the basic issue in the Greek-Turkish relations.

Responding to a question on the issue of terrorism, he pointed out that it is not a simple issue as it was made clear after the September 11 terrorist attack and underlined that there is close cooperation between the responsible Greek and US agencies.

He also referred to the preparations for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and the efforts concerning the Olympic truce.

[02] STOCK EXCHANGE REPRESENTATIVES' MEETING IN ATHENS

Representatives of the stock exchanges of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Morocco will hold a new meeting in Athens on February 28 within the framework of the efforts for the materialization of the ambitious regional cooperation plan on the stock exchanges in southeastern Mediterranean.

According to information, the cooperation of the four stock exchanges will concern, among others, the establishment of a joint index in cooperation with FTSE International. This index will be based on company stocks trading in these stock exchanges.

[03] OPINION POLL ON CORRUPTION

One out of two citizens in Greece believes that neither of the two major political parties can deal effectively with the problem of corruption in the country.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the polling company V-PRC and published on the Athens newspaper Imerisia, 53.7% of those questioned responded that no government will be able to deal with corruption in an effective manner, while 49% of them believe that quite a few politicians are corrupted.

Also, 25.6% pointed out that responsible for the situation is the indifference displayed by the politicians themselves.

[04] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem in New York today.

Mr. Papandreou had a short meeting yesterday with Mr. Cem on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

[05] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS IS IN SYRIA

President Kostis Stephanopoulos is in Syria on a formal visit. He is accompanied by Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Anomeritis, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Andreas Loverdos and a group of 40 Greek businessmen.

Mr. Stephanopoulos will meet with the Syrian President, the Prime Minister and the Patriarch of Antioch. The talks he will have will concern bilateral issues and the situation in the Middle East.

The Greek President will visit the Great Umayyad Mosque which is among the oldest in the Arab world and one of the most important monuments of the Muslim world.

[06] FIVE THOUSAND BOOKS TO GJIROKASTRA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOANNINA

Five thousand books were donated by the University of Ioannina in northwestern Greece to the library of the Greek Language and Literature Department in the University of Gjirokastra, in Albania.

The restoration of the library was funded by the Greek Consulate in the city of Gjirokastra.

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