Your Excellencies, members of the Diplomatic Corps, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and privilege to welcome you all today to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at an exhibition to commemorate the 150 years of diplomatic and consular relations between the Hellenic Republic and the Argentine Republic. A similar exhibition to mark the same anniversary took place last April in Buenos Aires. I would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina for hosting that event at Palacio San Martín, as well as for providing documents from its archives for this exhibition. In addition, I would like to thank the Ambassador of Argentina personally, Mr. Luis Alfredo Azpiazu, and his staff for facilitating the planning of this event.
I am particularly pleased to address this event on the exact same day that marked the establishment of the diplomatic and consular relations of Greece with Argentina, namely the 29th of November. On that day, in 1874, Greece, alongside the government of Argentina, recognized the first Honorary Consul of Greece in Buenos Aires, namely Mr. Petros Vasilikos.
As we commemorate this anniversary, it is worth highlighting the strong and multi-faceted relations between Greece and Argentina, two countries whose course in history bears many similarities, despite belonging to distant geographical regions.
Greece and Argentina gained their independence around the same time. Since then, despite the distance between them, they have developed a deep-rooted friendship founded on shared democratic values and their commitment to international law. On the other hand, both countries have a good understanding with each other as they have faced similar challenges. To name only a few, terrible political periods, such as dictatorships, almost at the same time in the '60s and early '70s, and major economic challenges. In this multidimensional relationship, we should stress the invaluable link formed between the two countries by the Greek community in Argentina, one of the largest Greek communities in Latin America.
In the past few years, Greece has put emphasis on further developing its relations with Latin America. In this context, a series of high-profile visits have taken place, including my predecessor's visit to Buenos Aires in February 2023. I would also like to highlight the just concluded visit of Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Ms. Maira Myrogianni, with a Delegation of Members of the Greek Parliament in Buenos Aires on the 15th of November 2024. And of course, my intention to visit very soon Buenos Aires in order to further cultivate our relations with our friendly country, Argentina.
In view of the above, I would like to mention that Argentina is among Greece's, as well as EU's, key partners in Latin America. Both sides share a strong commitment to international law, to multilateralism, to democracy, and of course, respect to human rights. We are also very pleased with our excellent cooperation in the UN fora. It is the intention of Greece, in the course of its term in office in the Security Council, as of January 1st 2025, to actually further link with Argentina in order to echo the voice of Latin America in the United Nations.
Furthermore, we would like to express our deep appreciation for the fact that Argentina is now the biggest contributor to the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus. This contribution not only promotes peace in our region, but also upgrades Argentina's role in it.
Last, but not least, Greece focuses also on strengthening its bilateral economic ties with Argentina. Both our countries offer opportunities for increasing bilateral trade and investments. So, I am looking forward to further developing our cooperation in this sector to fulfill the great potential that we enjoy. As we celebrate the 150 years of diplomatic and consular relations, as well as our deep friendship, Greece is committed to working together with Argentina to enhance the relationship and deal with the challenges of the 21st century for a better future, on the basis of the same ideas that have inspired both our countries since our independence.
Thank you so much for this. It is a great honor to host you all here. Thank you.
November 29, 2024