N. DENDIAS: We are not used to having so many people here and, consequently, there’s no system in place to impose silence.
Minister, allow me to welcome you to a place that is dear and familiar to you. You’ve spent your entire life serving it.
You will allow me to provide a brief overview of the four years that my colleagues and I have spent at the Ministry.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to say that throughout these years we have worked with unwavering commitment to International Law and the International Law of the Sea.
In accordance with a fundamental principle, the principle of inviolability of borders and the independence of all states. We have always kept in mind that dialogue is the only means to settle our differences, to defend democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the protection of the environment. In this regard, we have undertaken to organize the 2024 "Our Ocean” Conference together with the United States of America.
When presenting our strategy, I always refer to a multi-faceted network of circles. We have created channels of communication and cooperation with countries in the Middle East, the Gulf, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Australia. Many of the countries I visited were visited for the first time by a Greek Minister.
First and foremost, Greece's candidacy for the United Nations Security Council was launched.
As you know, we have already secured 120 pledges in writing and there’s no rival at the moment. We have also launched campaigns for the Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly Presidency. As you are aware, the 2nd and 3rd campaigns are a first in the history of Greece.
Strategic cooperation agreements were signed with the United States of America, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Agreements on the delimitation of Greece's Exclusive Economic Zones were signed with Egypt and Italy, also for the first time in Greek history. There has been an agreement in principle with Albania to refer the issue of EEZ delimitation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
And as a result of all these agreements, I can proudly say that I am the first Greek Foreign Minister since 1947 to depart the Ministry with our national territory being larger than when assumed office.
We were able to address COVID-19 and the Ministry continued to operate normally. A situation that offered us an opportunity, that of “vaccine diplomacy”, namely, donating vaccines to a large number of countries that needed them and, therefore, giving us the opportunity to build bridges with those countries.
We have conducted three operations to rescue our compatriots from danger zones, namely from Afghanistan, Ukraine and, most recently, Sudan.
We have developed a “diplomacy of maps”, that is, we have explained to the entire world, to many, many countries, what is the real difference and its dimension in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
So as not to maintain the impression that the tension with Türkiye over the last three and a half years was due to a dispute with historical rather than legal roots.
I feel happy because we are leaving our relations with Türkiye at a point where a window of opportunity has opened and I hope that this small window will grow into a big gateway. We are keeping a close eye on developments in Türkiye, but of course, there is no room for complacency.
Internally, the Ministry has undergone the most significant, to put it modestly, reform through the modernization of its structures and the implementation of strategic planning.
As long as these cutting-edge tools are implemented, I believe this will allow for the interaction of political, economic and public diplomacy, as befits a modern Ministry.
All of this will be supported by digital reform which will include new innovative digital tools and the full digitization of consular services. All this will be to the benefit of Greek citizens as well.
Concluding, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks, first of all, to Alternate Minister, Mr. Varvitsiotis, for our cooperation over these years.
I’d also like to thank you, Mr. Katsaniotis and Mr. Fragogiannis. I believe we can depart this Ministry proudly.
I would also like to express my warmest and heartfelt thanks, first of all to my team, but also to all the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Central Service and our Missions Abroad throughout the world.
Also, Minister, although it is unnecessary given your vast experience, I’d like to wish you every success in your current duties and to assure you that all of the personal contacts I have made with colleagues around the world over the last four years are completely at your disposal, just as I am for anything the country or you need.
Welcome and thank you very much.
V. KASKARELIS: Minister, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I’d like to thank you for your warm words, which are obviously addressed to the staff of our country’s entire Diplomatic Service.
I confess that I have attended similar ceremonies in this room many times This is the first time, however, from the position of Minister. And this is a great honour for me, as I’m succeeding Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias. A Minister who, admittedly, has upgraded Greece’s international presence, prestige and role, due to his most important work.
During my brief tenure, I will seek to contribute to the smooth continuation of the Ministry’s work as well as to the successful organization of the next election abroad.
My aim is to ensure the country’s unimpeded international representation and full compliance with our international obligations, both bilaterally and within international organizations and initiatives.
It goes without saying that our main priority is and will continue to be the effective defence of our national interests.
Allow me to close with a personal reference, Minister. This day is especially significant for me because, after nearly 40 years of service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I feel as if I am returning, even if only for a short time, to my second home, where I know the worthy staff very well and look forward to working constructively with all of them.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the welcome and wish you all the best.
And, off protocol I’d like to say that I feel really touched because I see a lot of familiar and friendly faces, who are former colleagues.
I wish you well. Thank you very much.
May 26, 2023