The Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Nikos Xydakis, stressed in his speech at the first Greek-Russian Tourism Forum – which was co-hosted today by the Ministry of Economy, Development & Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) – on “Greece-Russia: Reality and Prospects for Cooperation in the Tourism Sector,” that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is striving to respond successfully to the increase in the numbers of Russian tourists, not just for tourism and to support the national economy, but because visitors from one country to another bring our two peoples closer together and help to build a stable, open, friendly, creative relationship between Greece and Russia, in a world that is currently plagued by imponderable factors.”
Mr. Xydakis briefed the forum on the Foreign Ministry’s initiatives for improving visa services for Russian citizens who want to visit Greece and for resolving the issues that arose with the introduction of the new visa issuing system (VIS). “The consulates throughout the world, but mainly the one in Moscow, were bolstered in good time. In Moscow, the consulate expanded to an additional floor, the number of work stations was doubled, the visa software is being improved from day to day, and, above all, it was decisively bolstered with personnel, so that from 5 or 6 people in December, the visa section currently has over 40 personnel, while that number will increase to over 100 within May and be continuously bolstered as needed.”
Mr. Xydakis noted that “up until December there were 20 visa application centers (VACs) – one in Moscow and 19 in major cities. And due to the Ministry’s moves towards the provider, there are now 28, with two in Moscow to meet demand in Russia’s largest city, and the others in 26 more cities. And I am announcing here, for the first time, that with our insistence on serving the Russian citizen in as many places as possible, the provider is opening small VACs – mini-VACs – mainly in banks and exclusively for Greece, in Surgut, on 16 May; in Tomsk, on 3 June; in Chelyabinsk, on 17 June; and in Tyumen, on 1 July. Our effort will continue, because we know that the mobile biometric units can serve even the most remote village, though they cost more for the citizen.”
“Also, in the same direction, we are already issuing long-term visas for multiple entries over the course of a year, and, progressively, to the degree allowed by the Schengen regulations, at a difficult and sensitive time, visas will be for greater periods of time. Because our country sees Russian citizens for what they really are: good and reliable tourists. We do not want to drag them to the VACs every year, and nor do we want to burden them with repeated visa costs. We want them close to us, easily, simply, with dignity and respect for their person,” Mr. Xydakis stressed.
May 11, 2016