Excerpts from the statements of Foreign Minister Avramopoulos and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

B. NETANYAHU: We were just commenting on the similar colors of the flags. And that shouldn’t be a surprise, because Jerusalem and Athens are the foundations of Western civilization. And we renewed our friendship a few years ago. In the last four years it has grown dramatically, and there is much more to be done. And that’s what we’re going to discuss.

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Prime Minister, that’s why I’m here today. I really believe that we can give new momentum to our relations. The future is very bright and we are much closer to one another. We are determined to work together. There are so many things we can do in other sectors: in the economy, in business, in investments, in energy, in tourism, in research.

B. NETANYAHU: We already send our tourists to Greece.

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: 400,000 thousand last year, and, from what we believe, this year the number will grow.

B. NETANYAHU: Maybe you will add another one.

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: You are always more than welcome.

B. NETANYAHU: Thank you. It’s good to see you in Jerusalem. We are two sister democracies in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are not too many.

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I remind you, Prime Minister, that when I was Mayor of Athens, we established the very first period of cooperation on the level of cities. Now we are on the level of states. On the level of nations, our relations are thousands of years old.