The regional-international developments in the meeting Mitsotakis – Le Drian

The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met this morning at the Maximos Palace with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is in our country to participate in the work of the Quartet of Foreign Ministers of Greece, Egypt, Cyprus and France.

During the meeting, a review of regional and international developments was made. Ways were also considered to strengthen the multilevel bilateral relations, with emphasis on the defense and economy sectors, on the basis of the Greek-French Strategic Partnership Agreement.

The Prime Minister expressed the general support of Greece to the priorities set by France in view of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the first half of 2022.

From the Greek side, the meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias, the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister Ambassador Eleni Sourani and the Ambassador Anna-Maria Boura, in charge of European Affairs at the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister. The meeting was also attended by 26-year-old Konstantinos Rozis, who monitors the work of the Prime Minister in the context of DUOday 2021.

* At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France had the following dialogue: *

* Kyriakos Mitsotakis: * I am very glad that you are in Athens for the very important quadripartite ministerial meeting we have with Cyprus and Egypt. As you know, we consider this form of cooperation very important. We particularly appreciate the participation of France. Your visit takes place a few weeks after the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership agreement, which upgraded our relationship to a historically high level. So we are extremely happy to welcome you today in Athens.

* Jean-Yves Le Drian: * Thank you very much, Prime Minister. I am very happy to be here and to meet you as well as my colleague, Nikos, with whom we have a long-standing relationship, we could say, after all we meet often. But I am very happy to be here because this visit takes place after the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, which is a crucial issue of security and cooperation.

I am happy to be here at a time when relations between France and Greece are at an excellent level. And also in a festive situation as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution. It is a time when we must act together on many issues that concern both countries. More specifically, I am talking about issues of security, sovereignty and sovereignty in the Mediterranean. This will be the subject of the quadripartite conference which will take place shortly, at the initiative of my counterpart, Mr Dendias.

So I would like to say that it is my great pleasure to meet you again, that you do me the honor of welcoming me. I would also like to convey to you the greetings and appreciation of the President of the French Republic, whom you are well aware of.