Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras Meets With his Chinese Counterpart in Milan

The good level of communication and the strong economic ties between their countries were confirmed earlier today by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, who met on the sidelines of the European Union-Asia Summit Meeting. The two leaders discussed the prospects of their countries’ further development and cooperation.
Keqiang underlined that the Greek Prime Minister was the first to meet in a series of scheduled contacts he will have with European leaders during his stay in the Italian city. He also expressed his content over the Cosco investment in the port of Piraeus, the largest in southeast Mediterranean, and the prospect of its expanison. At the same time, he made clear that China is interested in the ongoing Greek privatization program, which includes, amongst others, the Athens International Airport «Eleftherios Venizelos,» the national railways and the Kastelli Airport. Special reference was made to the possibility of cooperation in the field of energy, while the Chinese premier repeated that Greece remains the main getaway for Chinese products in Europe.
On his part, Samaras confirmed Greece’s willingness to support China on all issues concerning the improvement of its relations with the European Union. Additionally, the two leaders referred to the continuing cultural cooperation of their countries, which will become even tighter after setting up a Chinese, Greek and Egyptian Committee on decoding these three ancient languages.
Samaras has a scheduled meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and a number of his European counterparts. The Greek Prime Minister is accompanied by government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi, Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas and his advisor Chrysanthos Lazaridis.