Athens supports Ban Ki-Moon's UN candidacy

    The Greek government on Thursday said it would support the candidacy of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon for the post of United Nations Secretary General, after the S. Korean official met with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in Athens, accompanied by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis.

   

    The time has come for Asia to have a secretary-general at the United Nations, Bakoyannis told reporters as she and her S. Korean counterpart left the meeting with Karamanlis, saying that Athens would support Ban's candidacy and that he had a high chance of getting the position.

   

    Ban thanked the Greek government for supporting his candidacy and stressed that the UN was now called to face the new challenges created by international conditions. He also expressed satisfaction at the level of bilateral relations in the economic, trade, tourism and cultural sectors.

   

    During an earlier meeting, the two ministers had also confirmed the excellent bilateral relations between Greece and S. Korea in the shipping sector and expressed a desire to work to further strengthen bilateral ties, especially in economic relations.

   

    Afterwards, Ban had conveyed his country's thanks for the services offered by Greeks during the Korean war and emphasized that the new UN Secretary-General must be objective, work deeply and have integrity in order to be able to accomplish the UN's Millennium Targets.

   

    Greece is currently one of the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

    Caption: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon addresses reporters in Athens on Thursday, April 13, 2006, as his Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis looks on. ANA-MPA photo / O. Panagiotou.

   

   

   

Λεπτομέρειες στη συνδρομητική σελίδα του ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ | Αίτηση Συνδρομητή