Greece found “fertile ground” in discussions held in Türkiye’s capital Ankara last week, said the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister on Tuesday.
Konstantinos Fragkogiannis said progress has been achieved on almost every arena, in an exclusive interview with Kathimerini Daily when asked about the meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Burak Akçapar, within the scope of the Positive Agenda meet.
"At this juncture, Positive Agenda is an effective tool for resolving everyday issues pertaining to ties between the two countries," he said.
"Apart from agreeing on the widening communication channels in areas of mutual interests, we also opened ways for closer cooperation in domains covered by the agenda, including boosting cooperation between businessmen and joint investments in third countries," said Fragkogiannis.
Possible areas of cooperation in other fields, including rural development, energy, environmental protection and insurance will be discussed during the next meeting in Athens.
Despite a history of rivalry with Türkiye that goes back centuries, Greece was among the first European countries to send rescue workers and humanitarian aid on Feb. 6, a few hours after the earthquake.
Despite territorial and energy disputes exacerbating regional tensions, the two neighbors, situated on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in times of natural disasters.
The Greek government dispatched 80 tons of medical and first aid equipment, while thousands of Greeks had responded to calls for aid to quake-hit Türkiye, reviving memories of how a spontaneous outpouring of help after a similar disaster in 1999 brought the neighbors together when they seemed to be on the brink of war.
The earthquakes also have prompted the first contact between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in months.
Likewise, Türkiye was the first country to offer condolences and aid following a Feb. 28 train accident in northern Greece that left at least 57 people dead. After the accident, Türkiye allowed the transfer of a Greek prisoner to Greece to attend his son's funeral.
