K. Mitsotakis: The era of introversion has passed irrevocably

Today, for the first time, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the heads of the Greek Embassies and Permanent Representations abroad via teleconference, talked to them and listened to their views from the missions where they serve.

The Prime Minister’s initiative to communicate with the heads of the country’s diplomatic authorities abroad and to present the main priorities and objectives of foreign policy for 2022, aims to coordinate the government with the heads of diplomatic authorities to better promote national goals and positions. Kyriakos Mitsotakis intends to establish this communication at the highest level on an annual basis.

During the teleconference, Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented the main priorities and challenges of foreign policy and Greek diplomacy for 2022, emphasizing that Greece is a strong and extroverted country that co-forms international developments, has a say and opinion in every multilateral forum, is able to innovate, show the way and be ahead of other countries in European debates, with a typical example for the European Digital Certificate Covid-19, but also for the mandatory vaccinations.

“The era of introversion, the era of misery, has passed irrevocably. The Greece of 2022 is not the Greece of 2012. And it is able and must claim its role in the international firmament”, the Prime Minister noted, analyzing the multilevel nature of government foreign policy. A policy with a European core, on the basis of which good relations are developed at the same time with each international partner on the basis of International Law and mutual interest. And which extends to the Balkans, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Arab world, it strengthens the transatlantic alliance and at the same time speaks honestly with capitals such as Moscow and Beijing.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to highlight the country’s advantages and economic diplomacy, strengthen the export orientation of Greek companies and attract quality investments, as well as the need for the Greek diplomatic authorities abroad to give special importance to a successful period in 2022. He noted that the foreign policy of the 21st century concerns the osmosis of the economy with classical diplomacy.

Emphasizing that Greece’s foreign policy is not monothematic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that our country is returning to the center of regional developments in both the Mediterranean and the Balkans. “We can and must become the locomotive of growth, stability and prosperity in the Balkans, to be present at virtually all levels,” said the Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visits to countries in the region in the near future.

Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated “Greece’s readiness for dialogue based on international legitimacy”, while emphasizing that our country is equally ready to defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights, a goal that its agreements serve. Greece with countries in the region, such as Italy and Egypt, tripartite partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean and the deepening of relations with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as defense agreements with France and the United States.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated the importance of the channels of communication with Turkey to remain open at all levels, while he stressed that Greece seeks to intensify contacts on issues to which the two countries owe and can cooperate, which fall into the so-called “positive agenda “, where cooperation can be mutually beneficial.

In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, spoke about the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the period 2022-2026, while the heads of the Greek authorities abroad had the opportunity to present their views from the countries and international organizations to which they are accredited. .

Closing the teleconference, the Prime Minister noted that the country is leaving behind the decade of crisis and is now pursuing an active policy with confidence. He called on the representatives of the country abroad to be vigilant, because, as he stressed, “as your colleague George Seferis said, the opportunities always seem greater when they leave, than when they come”.

The teleconference was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias, the Deputy Minister in charge of European Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the Deputy Minister in charge of Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion Gen. Costas Frangogiandos Mr. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Themistoklis Demiris, the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister Ambassador Eleni Sourani, the person in charge of European affairs in the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Anna-Maria Boura, the Deputy Minister of National Security and Secretary of International Relations of ND, Tasos Hadjivassiliou.

The Prime Minister will communicate with the heads of the embassies on an annual basis

On an annual basis, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will communicate with the heads of the embassies and the Permanent Representations of Greece abroad. This was stated by Mr. Mitsotakis in a post on twitter: “I had the pleasure to talk to the heads of the Greek Embassies and Permanent Representations abroad and to hear their views from the missions where they serve. My intention is for this communication to established on an annual basis “.

The Prime Minister added in a new post: “Greece is a strong and extroverted country. The era of introversion, the era of misery, has passed irrevocably. The Greece of 2022 is not the Greece of 2012. And it is able and must claims its role in the international arena “.

I had the pleasure to talk to the heads of the Embassies and Permanent Representations of Greece abroad and to hear their perspective from the missions where they serve. My intention is for this communication to be established on an annual basis. https://t.co/isdJF7JvdM pic.twitter.com/RaKwonxrsH

—Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) January 20, 2022