Mediterranean Concerns

Posted on February 13, 2008 by grpresspoland

Foreign Minister on EU- Arab league

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis arrived in Malta on Monday, where the first ministerial meeting between the European Union and the Arab League is taking place. Speaking to the Press on this initiative by Malta, which gives the opportunity to Europeans and Arabs to handle, apart from the Middle East issue, common problems, such as illegal immigration, energy safety, climate change and growth, the minister stressed that “the Mediterranean unites and must not divide.”

It should be noted that Greece – due to its centuries-old bonds of friendship with the Arab countries – is in favour of any efforts aimed at strengthening cooperation, deepening dialogue and mutual understanding between the EU and the Arab world. The country’s role as a force of peace was evident through the initiatives it has undertaken during the recent Lebanon crisis (July-August 2006).

Bakoyannis also referred to her upcoming visit to Washington, in order to promote, through a series of contacts, the Greek views and positions on the pending name issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and developments in Kosovo.

What is more, the minister called on FYROM president Branko Crvenkovski “to abandon the high tones and intransigence and to respond to the invitation for a substantial and serious negotiation.”