ATHENS - Greek politicians and businessmen said here Thursday that they are happy to host the third Forum on the Development of Tibet of China, seeing it as an opportunity to promote cooperation between Greece and China.

"It is very important that the Chinese government has chosen Greece to host the third forum on the development of Tibet. It is very crucial, as it gives us the opportunity to get to know Tibet better and to start a form of cooperation with their authorities," Constantine Yannidis, President of the Hellenic Chinese Chamber told Xinhua.

"With this movement Greece comes closer to Tibet and of course China," said Yannidis.

Yannidis said the chamber will talk to its members and set the right frames of collaboration between the two sides.

Andreas Potamianos, President of Greece-China Association said Tibet is an amazing place that "gives you extreme power and energy."

"We are really interested in working as much as we can with the People's Republic of China, because with the current political situation in Greece, our future is more with China than with Europe which chases us from morning till night," said Potamianos.

For his part, Sotirios Hatzigakis, former vice president of the Hellenic Parliament said he "firmly believe that this forum is very important as it gives us a great opportunity to understand the peaceful and great role that China plays in the world stage."

"I believe that Greece has huge opportunities for cooperation with China, both in economic and cultural level, and in political as well. ... I am very positive for the outcome of this cooperation, as I know very well that the Greek people want it, and the Chinese can do it."

The two-day forum opened in Athens on Thursday to enhance the world's understanding of Tibet and strengthen international co-operation on the development of Tibet.

The forum is jointly sponsored by China's State Council Information Office, the Chinese embassy in Greece and the Hellenic-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries

Over 200 government officials and scholars, as well as business and media representatives from Greece, China and other countries attended the forum now in its third year.

The two previous forums were held in Vienna, Austria in 2007 and Rome, Italy in 2009.