McAleese broadens relations with Greece

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese said yesterday that her visit to Greece the first by an Irish head of State was an important contribution to the development of relations between the two countries.

"History and geography have conspired to keep us a little bit at arms length from one another," Mrs McAleese said in Athens.

"Now that we are partners in the European Union, we have both an opportunity and also, I think, an obligation to ensure that all the opportunities that are presented by our common partnership in the European Union are harnessed."

Greek Premier Costas Simitis said Greece had not developed "a particularly friendly, productive relationship" with Ireland because Britain with whom Ireland was at odds had a strong presence in Greece for the first half of the 20th century. "But that is in the past," he added.

Discussions included EU issues, Simitis said, since both Ireland and Greece are member countries of approximately the same size and face similar problems in the 15-nation bloc.

Simitis said both countries support EU expansion, adding that Greece and Ireland would also work on improving their bilateral economic relations. "Ireland shows how a small country, despite its size, can have very good results concerning economic development and social cohesion," he said.