Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias met in Brussels, on the margins of today’s meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, with the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Lebanon, Ioannis Kasoulides and Gebran Bassil, respectively.
This first such trilateral meeting was dominated by issues of regional and international interest, while special emphasis was put on the refugee crisis, terrorism and the peace process in the wider Middle East.
The talks looked at the prospects for building trilateral cooperation in the economic and trade sectors, as well as in the sectors of energy, security and culture.
Finally, it was agreed for Messrs. Kotzias and Kasoulides to carry out a joint visit to Lebanon in the near future.
Tag: Greece
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Foreign Minister Kotzias has trilateral meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Lebanon, Ioannis Kasoulides and Gebran Bassil
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14,000 Discarded Refugee Lifejackets Traveling to Berlin for Art Project
About 14,000 lifejackets used and discarded by refugees and migrants after their arrival on the coast of Lesvos travelled to Berlin on Tuesday so that they can be used by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei for a new art project.The decision to give away the used lifejackets — bought by refugees in Turkey and most of them flimsy — was taken by the island’s mayor, Spyros Galinos, who told ANA-MPA that the aim is to create a work that “will affect and mobilize the entire international community regarding the crime that takes place every day in the Aegean by unscrupulous traffickers.”
He also said the island will have the “distinctive honor” of having a monument created by Weiwei in Lesvos, which will be dedicated to the refugees making the perilous journey towards Europe.
Municipal authorities have gathered hundreds of thousands of lifejackets during the past year from various landing areas around Lesvos.
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Delphi to host top level Economic Forum
The first annual Delphi Economic Forum will be held at the European Cultural Centre of Delphi (ECCD, February 25 – 28, 2016) under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos. The aim of the conference is to engage business, political, academic and other influential opinion makers, in an effort to address emerging challenges for Greece and to contribute to a policy framework that will set the grounds for the country’s socio-economic transformation and revival.Among the issues to be discussed at the Conference, according to the 4-day program, are the shifts in the global balance of power, strategies for sustainable development, Greece’s constitutional revision dilemmas, Europe’s migration and refugee crisis, Foreign Direct Investment and entrepreneurship as key drivers for the Greek economy, energy issues, the Greek pension system and the demographics of ageing, media and education reforms, the cooperation with the Greek Diaspora, as well as extremism and populism as challenges for the future of Europe.
High-level government officials, influential politicians and major experts from Greece and abroad are expected to attend, as well as distinguished businessmen, market executive’s academics and journalists from the international and domestic community. The list of speakers includes Helene Ahrweiler, President of the Administration Council of ECCD, Ioannis Dragasakis, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, George Katrougalos, Minister of Labor, Ioannis Amanatidis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kostas Bakoyannis, Governor of Central Greece Region, Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Corina Cretu, Regional Policy Commissioner, Declan Costello, Director of Economic Relations of the European Commission, Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO, US Council on Competitiveness, Lucas Papademos, former Greek Prime Minister, Thanos Dokos, Director General Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, and many more.
Τhe Conference is taking place in Delphi, one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece, which seems to appear in the itinerary of every traveler who is attracted to the oracle that influenced affairs in the known world for over a thousand years.
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Designs for new kiosks chosen
The Greek capital may see a new generation of kiosks after the City of Athens handed out awards Tuesday for three designs to replace the old street stands.The municipality has removed 214 defunct kiosks from the city’s sidewalks since 2012. It recently held a competition for architects to come up with a new design for the structures.
“The image of illegal extensions around today’s kiosks has to come to an end,” said Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis.
“Athens needs a new, pioneering, functional and good-looking kiosk to improve the urban landscape and the capital’s image,” he added.
The winning designs are expected to form the basis for any new kiosks erected in Athens. They are on display at the Technopolis cultural complex.
