Finance Minister: Tax Agreement To Be Signed Between Turkey And Greece

ISTANBUL - Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said on Monday that tax agreement between Turkey and Greece would be signed on Tuesday.
Administrators of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD) met with Greek Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Khristodoulakis and a delegation led by Ulysses Kyriakopoulos, the Executive Board Chairman of Federation of Greek Industrialists (FGI).
Unakitan, who participated in the meeting in Ciragan Palace, said Greek Minister came to Turkey for the tax agreement that would be signed on Tuesday.
Recalling that both Turkey and Greece wanted to sign this agreement for a long time, Unakitan said, ''Turkey signed such agreements with many countries. We had to sign this agreement with Greece before. This is a delayed agreement. This means relations between the businessmen will increase. This will bring important benefits to the two countries. Economic relations with Greece will increase.''
Stating that the government wanted to improve relations and friendship with Greece and other neighbors, Unakitan said, ''this is very important for us. Problems can only be solved through talks.''
FGI Chairman Ulysses Kyriakopoulos pointed out that innocent people lost their lives in attacks in Istanbul, stating that terrorist attacks were a threat toward the free world.
Kyriakopoulos said they would not permit terrorism to stop them, stating that they worked for prosperity of Turkey and Greece.
Stressing that they sincerely supported Turkey's accession to the EU, Kyriakopoulos said Greece wanted to share a friendly and reliable atmosphere.
Kyriakopoulos said this would be the first time when trade between the two countries would be more than one billion U.S. dollars.
(AY-AÖ) 01.12.2003