The repercussions of climate change on modern migration movements were the main focus of talks on Wednesday between Prime Minister George Papandreou and visiting United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who is carrying out the first visit by a UN Secretary General to Greece.

   "Greece attaches great importance to the United Nations, of which it is a founding member, while there is a tradition of long-term and multilateral cooperation and dedication to the principles of international law," said the prime minister, stressing the UN's decisive mission for global peace and cooperation.

   Their meeting also covered issues of Greek interest, such as the Cyprus problem and the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and matters such as the UN peacekeeping forces and the Millenium targets.

   Papandreou said that climate change would probably emerge as the foremost problem of the planet and that dialogue on this issue would reach a peak in Copenhagen in December. The Greek premier announced that he would be attending the climate change summit himself and expressed hope that "we can reach a binding agreement".

   According to the premier, he had emphasised the Greek government's dedication to this goal in his talks with the UN Secretary General, in addition to the initiatives recently undertaken by the EU and his attempt to redirect the Greek economy toward green development.

   "The Secretary General will find us to be supportive of his efforts," he stressed.

   Concerning modern migration movements and Greece's chairmanship of the 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), Papandreou said that he had emphasised in talks with Ban Ki Moon the need for development in both the countries of origin and the countries that received immigrants so that, when migrants returned to their countries they would transfer know-how, experience and capital to these.

   Papandreou also emphasised the need to protect workers and the poorer sections of society from the impact of the global economic crisis.

   "I informed the UN Secretary General on my latest initiatives to create a momentum on both the Cyprus issue and the name issue with FYROM," the Greek premier said, expressing satisfaction that his views and the UN Secretary General's largely coincided and promising close cooperation.

   Ban Ki Moon welcomed the Greek premier's promise to help Cypriots arrive at an agreement for a solution to the Cyprus problem, saying that the international community had "high hopes" for the negotiations now underway and that these must continue, adding that UN special envoy Alexander Downer would continue to work with the leaders of the two communities.

   Regarding the name dispute with FYROM, the UN Secretary General said that special mediator Matthew Nimetz was ready to repeat talks whenever the two sides were ready, welcoming Greece's readiness to begin talks and Athens' assurance that it would fully support the role of the UN special envoy on this issue.

   On the issue of migration, he noted that the Greek economy had benefited from the presence of migrants while referring to concerns about conditions of hospitality in Greece.

   "I hope that Greece, as a destination country, will continue to defend and promote the rights of migrants," Ban Ki Moon said, urging Greece to respect the processes for asylum applications.

   The UN Secretary General also praised Greece's contribution to the "concepts of democracy, human rights and a state of law," and the Greek prime minister's role at the EU, adding that he would address the Greek Parliament on behalf of the UN on Thursday.