President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias on Tuesday inaugurated the 17th Ministerial Conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Athens, welcoming delegates from the OSCE's 56 member countries and describing the international meeting as "an important political event and an opportunity to strengthen peaceful cooperation and promote the common goals of the member states, in order to reach tangible and substantive conclusions".

   Papoulias also referred to the Fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, stressing that, after the fall, Europe experienced unprecedented security and stability, while he also spoke of the significant achievements Europe made after the Helsinki Final Act.

   On the OSCE principles and resolutions concerning international legality, international co-existence, and protection of the individual freedoms and rights of the peoples, the Greek President stressed that "there is no room for complacency", adding that this was why Greece was seeking cooperation and co-existence not only with its neighbors but in the wider region, and why it was actively participating in the efforts in that direction.

   "In that spirit, we initiated the Corfu Process in the framework of the Greek chairmanship-in-office of the OSCE. This Process aims at the organisation's more effective response to the security challenges in the 21st century," Papoulias said.

   "Despite the progress that has been achieved, the dividing lines still remain, old disputes have not been resolved, new threats are emerging inside and outside our borders," he continued.

   "Here in Athens, the cradle of democracy, it is our duty to restore confidence and strengthen the cooperation among all the member countries of the Organisation, with determination. The OSCE can proceed with a broad, substantive and strategic dialogue for joint confrontation of all the common challenges to European security," the Greek President concluded.

   Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of President of Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias