During the European Union-Arab League Summit taking place in Cairo, Foreign Minister N. Kotzias met today with Mr. Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League.
During the course of the meeting, Mr. Kotzias made reference to the close and longstanding friendly ties between Greece and the Arab nations and stressed the importance of expanding and strengthening cooperation between the European Union and the Arab League. He also stressed that Greece serves as a bridge linking Europe and the Arab world and expressed his desire for further strengthening the bilateral ties, extending an invitation to the Secretary General of the Arab League to visit Athens.
The discussion focused on issues of regional and international importance, especially on the present situation in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. More specifically, Mr. Gheit expressed his concern about the turn of events in Yemen, stressed the need to respect Libya’s territorial integrity, and described the decision to re-open the Greek Embassy in Tripoli as step to the right direction. At the same time, he praised Greece’s stance regarding the management of the refugee/migration crisis and stressed the need for further development of Greece’s and the European Union’s cooperation with the Arab nations.
December 20, 2016