Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis Thursday sent a letter to Qatari Minister of state for Energy & Industry Affairs Dr. Mohamed Saleh Al-Sada regarding progress in the investment in Astakos, an official announcement said.
Specifically, Kouvelis noted the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation for strategic cooperation in the investments sector between the governments of Greek And Qatar, in the presence of Prime Ministers Papandreou and Al Thani. The signing, Kouvelis noted in his letter, came as a follow-up to the signing of the first Memorandum of Cooperation regarding the construction of the Astakos energy centre, which Kouvelis and Al-Sada signed in the presence of the Greek and Qatari Prime Ministers in May 2010, in Athens.
Kouvelis also underscored his particular pleasure at Qatar’s having become a strategic partner of Greece during the latter’s efforts to promote a dynamic development process through activities that will give Greece an important regional role in Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean.
Kouvelis stressed that for this cooperation to become a success story, both sides will have to comply with the Memoranda of Cooperation, following a specific timeframe for the meeting of their agreed obligations – as set down in the MoCs – with the aim of implementing the specific projects.
In this spirit, Mr. Kouvelis noted to Dr. Al-Sada the steps taken by the Greek government following the signing of the MoC on the creation of the Astakos energy center to honor in a timely manner and effectively its commitment to the immediate promotion of its cooperation with the Qatari government, securing the basic requirements for the construction of the energy center. Specifically, Mr. Kouvelis set out the three basic requirements that the Greek government met immediately to ensure the fastest possible implementation of the project:
a. A positive opinion from the Prefectural Council on the Environmental Impact Study
b. Unanimous approval from the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) as of last May
c. Signing of a joint ministerial decision by the Ministers of Energy, Environment and Climate Change; Transport, Infrastructure and Networks; Economy; Development; and Culture
Noting the significant progress that has been made by the Greek side in the preparations for the Astakos project, Mr. Kouvelis requested corresponding information regarding the preparations of the Qatari government and Qatar Petroleum International for implementation of the project. Mr. Kouvelis concluded by requesting a meeting with the Qatari Minister at the soonest possible time, for the purpose of discussing the aforementioned matters and moving ahead to the necessary steps for initiation of the construction phase of the project.
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