Greek Minister Visiting Israel First Greek Official to Do So

Greek Agriculture Minister Athanasuos Canellopoulos, the first Greek minister to visit Israel, is due to meet Premier Menachem Begin and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir during his four-day visit. He arrived last night at the invitation of Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon.

Greece does not have full diplomatic relations with Israel and Canellopoulos declined to speculate on the possibility that his visit may lead to such relations. Greece is a competitor for Israeli agricultural exports in Europe, with the competition likely to become more serious for Israel with Greece’s recent entry into the European Economic Community (EEC).

Canellopoulos said that his country would like to learn from Israel advanced farming methods. He noted that Greece’s EEC membership presented problems for Israel. “It is a challenge for you … You have to organize relations with our country,” he said.