Greece shares Olympic know-how with China
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-02 07:28

Greece, which successfully hosted last year's Olympics, is to share its know-how with China, the host of the 2008 Games, the Greek government said.

Greek Public Order Minister Georges Voulgarakis left for China Tuesday at the head of a large delegation that included Greek police chief Georges Aguelakos and former head of Olympic security Vassilis Contantinidis for an official four-day visit during which he will sign a "memorandum of cooperation on security issues for the Olympic Games in Beijing."

The agreement is based on the "transfer of experience and know-how that the Greek police acquired during the programming and application of the model of Olympic security," read a statement from the public order ministry.

Athens spent 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) on Olympic security. It deployed more than 100,000 security personnel -- outnumbering athletes by almost 11 to one -- amid worldwide concerns of possible terror attacks at the world's premier sporting event.

NATO boosted Greek security measures after the March 11 train bombings in Madrid killed nearly 200 people.