PM Tsipras visits Izmir for High-Level Cooperation Council

The meeting will focus on the development of bilateral Greek-Turkish relations, mainly in the economic sector

Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras  will visit Izmir on Tuesday to participate in the 4th meeting of the bilateral High-Level Cooperation Council, just a few hours after the end of EU summit on refugee that took place in Brussels.

The meeting will focus on the development of bilateral Greek-Turkish relations, mainly in the economic sector, according to government sources. The agenda will include mainly issues relating to transport, trade and tourism, part of which is an agreement on a ferry service between Thessaloniki and Izmir and on a railway connection between Thessaloniki and Istanbul.

Mr. Tsipras will be accompanied by ten ministers, including Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis.

Apart from the Council meeting, a separate Greek-Turkish Business Forum will be held in which 36 Greek business and bodies will participate, mainly from the tourism, real estate, food and drink, construction, logistics, transport and building materials sectors.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu will also discuss the refugee crisis, with Greece stressing the need to implement and speed up migrant readmission procedures.