Greek Ministers sympathetic to N.Z. interests

Press, 28 May 1981, Page 3

Greek Ministers sympathetic to N.Z. interests

& NZPA correspondent r Athens Greek Ministers were sympathetic to New Zealand's interests and understood its problems of getting access to the E.E.C., the Minister of Defence (Mr Thomson) said in Athens on Tuesday. “They made it clear they understood our problems very well,” he said. , Mr Thomson was speaking after meetings with the Greek Prirhe Minister (Mr George Rallis), the Foreign Minister (Mr Constantine Mipsopakis) and the Agriculture Minister (Mr Aphanassios Kanellopoulos). He is the first New Zealand Minister to visit Greece since it joined the E.E.C. in ■January. Mr . Thomson yesterday renewed an invitation to Mr Rallis to visit New Zealand, extended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Taiboys) two years ago, and he. said he hoped this would take place early next year. . Mr-Thomson laid a. wreath at the tomb of the unknown Greek warrior before calling on the' Greek Minister of

Defence (Mr Evanghelos Av-eroff-Tossizza).

With him at the wreathlaying ceremony were New Zealand war veterans headed by the former Chief of the General Staff. Major-General Sir William Gentry.

Mr Thomson yesterday flew to the Servia Pass area where he and the double V.C. winner, Mr . Charles Upham, a member of the. veterans’ group, served during the war. Mr Thomson was a subaltern with' the New Zealand Fourth Brigade intelligence. There are no’ immediate questions on which Greece’s support is being sought, but New Zealand will be looking for the Greeks’ backing at the end of next year when the question of the butter quota for 1983 comes up. ' Wool worth SNZ3O million topped Greece's imports from New Zealand last year and the Greeks bought $2O million worth of lamb. They also bought a lot of whole frozen snapper and t his year between, seven and 15 tonnes of fish a week is coming in by air. " ■