The Diaspora Ministers of Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt, in the context of the "NOSTOS II" Programme which is being held in London, agreed to a cooperation with the competent Ministries of their countries, to encourage their Nationals everywhere - Organisations and natural persons - to further strengthen the trend of tourism to their Countries.
In his intervention, during the course of the Round Table discussion on "Diaspora - Tourism" Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Terens Quick stressed:
"Our Nationals undoubtedly represent a driving force that can help the Mother Country on numerous levels. One of these is Tourism.
I have had numerous discussions with my colleague, Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura, and we have agreed to launch a programme entitled "Bring a friend along on your holiday to Greece".
The reasoning begins with the fact that our Nationals usually come with their friends or neighbours who are of Greek descent. The point is for them to motivate a friend or neighbour of theirs, who is a citizen of the country where they live, to come to Greece with them, for them to become their tour guide and teach them everything from our history and culture to all the beauties of our Country.
The Programme "Bring a friend along on your holiday to Greece” was also approved by two of my colleagues Mr. Fotis Fotiou and Ms. Nabila Makram, and indeed we have proposals for collaboration between our Diasporas, which we will each submit to the Ministry of Tourism of our respective country.
We also discussed Medical Tourism -in its strict sense- an issue in which the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism must of course be involved."
The specific issue of Medical Tourism concerned another Round Table discussion which was held during the "NOSTOS II" Programme, with the participation of Greek, Cypriot, and Egyptian physicians who reside in Great Britain. At the discussion, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Terens Quick proposed to the Hellenic Medical Society of the UK the establishment of a small group of volunteers to support patients who come to London or other British cities for treatment following a decision by the Greek National Health System.
"There are families who need support, chiefly psychological in nature, especially when they come to a country not familiar to them, perhaps without speaking the language and with anxiety about a family member’s treatment, which for the most pertains to children. I can say that I had a good response, in conjunction also with the Greek Diplomatic Authorities in London."
And the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs concluded:
"In Britain, we have many "brain drain" doctors. When I proposed that we include Medicine in London's “NOSTOS II," I did so to show that Greek physicians are great and enviable scientists, not only here but throughout the world. It may be painful for us to have lost so many young people who have studied in Greece, at the expense of the Greek State, but I would like to stress that they have grown to become the best ambassadors for our Country, in one of science's most important fields. This is the continuation of great Greek physicians who for many years, much before the financial crisis, thrived in Britain, as well as in Germany and Scandinavia."
Greek Ambassador Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras participated in London’s "Nostos II" Programme, as did the Director of the Greek National Tourism Association Office in Britain and Ireland, Emi Anagnostopoulou, and physicians Kiki Sonidou, Foteini Kalofonou, and Ourania Fragkouli, members of the Hellenic Medical Society of the UK.
The "NOSTOS II" programme concluded with a visit by the three Ministers to the British Parliament, where they collaborated with the Presidents of the Interparty Parliamentary Friendship Groups of Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt.
October 31, 2018