ATHENS, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Monday started a visit to Greece in order to attend the lighting ceremony of the Olympic Flames which will be burning for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Before traveling to ancient Olympia in western Greece, the birthplace of the Games, for Tuesday's ceremony, Lee pledged closer cooperation between the two countries during meetings with Greece's leadership in Athens.

"We will do anything; we will make any possible effort, so that the Games will succeed... Our ties with Greece will deepen. I believe we indeed can find new ways to cooperate in several fields," he said in a joint statement with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras following their meeting.

"Today sports and the Olympic spirit brought us close. The common challenges we face in a globalized economy are certainly bringing us closer... There is huge potential to enhance bilateral cooperation," said Tsipras.

During talks with Lee at the presidential mansion, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos praised the "valuable but also highly symbolic financial contribution made by South Korea through the UNHCR in 2015 and 2016 for the needs of refugees in Greece", according to an e-mailed press statement.

On his part, Lee said his country had many reasons to be thankful to the Greek state and Greek people, such as cooperation in the shipping sector.

Currently, the two countries are exploring prospects of cooperation in sectors such as high technology, agro-food products, e-governance and education, among others, said the statement. Enditem

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