German-Greek Assembly in Nuremberg Oct 22-23

The active interest of Greece and the importance given to the Greek-German cooperation, now entering a new phase, was shown by the participation of the minister of Interior Giannis Michelakis, the minister of Rural Development and Food Athanasios Tsaftaris; the president of the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece Kostas Askounis; governors and vice governors of regions of more than sixty mayors, and other officials from Greece and Germany, in the fourth German-Greek Assembly whose bilateral activities will begin in Nuremberg on Tuesday the 22^nd of October, 2013.

The German-Greek Assembly is a wide initiative for the cooperation between Greek and German regional units, municipalities, specialists, businesses and representatives of social bodies aiming for the cooperation and exchange of experiences, as well as the creation of new contacts between the elected officials of the two countries.

Details of the preparation of the fourth German-Greek Assembly were discussed by the Interior Minister Giannis Michelakis, and the deputy minister Leonidas Grigorakos during their meeting in Athens with the German deputy minister of Labor and Social Affairs Hans-Joachim Fuchtel. Fuchtel is also Chancellor Angela Merkel’s representative at the German-Greek Assembly.

As Michelakis had stressed, the Greek-German cooperation is given from both sides regarding local administration and it is common place that this cooperation can bring mutual benefits, particularly through the exchange of know-how, good practices and experiences, attracting investments, as well as through the consultation of the local societies and the citizens through communication. The Interior Minister underlined that many opportunities exist and these can be promoted from both sides.

His satisfaction for the so far results of the Assembly and of the cooperation level between the two countries regarding the Local Administration was expressed by Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, in the relevant press release in Berlin, Germany. Fuchtel referred in detail to the particular sectors of exercising cooperation during the last three years, specifically tourism, agriculture, waste management and dual education.