Netanyahu meets with Papandreou in Greece

JERUSALEM, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made the first visit by an Israeli premier to Greece Monday, seeking to strengthen ties between the countries, observers said.

Netanyahu met for 2 hours with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who visited Israel last month, Ynetnews.com reported.

The two leaders spoke of enhancing cooperation between their countries on matters including security, tourism, agriculture and energy, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Natanyahu was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Greek Defense Minister Evangelos Venizelos on an Israeli ship that was purchased by Greece, the Post said.

"I know that many Israeli tourists will come to Greece," Netanyahu said following his talk with Papandreou. "It is a challenging, interesting and beautiful country. We spoke of the possibility of bringing hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world for a joint visit to Athens and Jerusalem, two cornerstones of the western cultures."