Athens
, 27 April 2011
Mr. Droutsas: A warm welcome to Athens for a very good friend of Greece, the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Murray McCully.
I would like to start by saying publicly what I said to Murray in our private meeting: that we were very moved in Greece by the tragic news of the powerful earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand, recently. [I would like once again to express our deep condolences to those who lost dear ones.]
Murray’s visit to Greece coincides with an historic anniversary of special importance to both our peoples. This year is the 70th anniversary of the battle of Crete; a battle that, according to many historians, decided the outcome of World War II. In this great battle of the previous century, Greeks and New Zealanders fought side by side for the ideal of freedom. Greece honors the fallen heroes of New Zealand just as it honors its own dead, with gratitude and great respect for their memory.
Murray and I had the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to our bilateral relations. Don’t forget that a large number of citizens of Greek decent live in New Zealand and are a living bridge of friendship between our two countries.
We think that there is a wide margin for us to develop our relations in the economic sector. As I explained to Murray, our country is going through a period of major adaptation and reforms that will render the economic environment here more attractive to investors.
Greece can also serve as a main gateway for investments in countries in Southeast Europe, where, principally through Greek banks, we have an established presence.
Finally, we want to see an increase in tourist flows into our country. I think that for New Zealanders visiting Europe, it is worthwhile to include Greece as one of their stops.
I also briefed Murray in detail on the special issues of concern to us here in our region: the accession of the Western Balkans to the European Union, the efforts we are making to find a solution on the FYROM name issue, our relations with Turkey, the Cyprus issue.
And at this time, our attention naturally turned to the countries in our southern neighbourhood. I conveyed to Murray our impressions and assessments, given that I have had many meetings over the past two weeks with counterparts of mine in the Arab world, within the framework of my trips to Cairo, Doha and Abu Dhabi. I repeat: violence is not the solution. The only solution viable in the long term is a solution from a political process.
With regard to Syria in particular, allow me to repeat the statement I made on Holy Saturday – a statement that unfortunately remains timely: the violent means employed by the authorities to suppress demonstrations are absolutely condemnable. Political reforms must be the answer to the demands of the Syrian people.
Mr. McCully: Dimitri, can I thank you for your warm welcome here in Athens and thank you sincerely for the very constructive dialogue I have had not just with you, but with both Deputy Ministers and your Alternate Minister this morning.
We have taken, as my colleague has said, this opportunity to reflect on the close historical ties between our peoples, particularly in relation to the Battle of Crete, which the New Zealand Minister of Defense will visit for commemorations in a few weeks time.
We are a small country on the rim of the Asian Pacific Region, but we have a very strong heritage. In Europe we have a very strong commitment to European principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. So, though we are very far apart in terms of geography, we are very close indeed in terms of the principles that underlie our two countries, and we are very close indeed in the way in which we see solutions to the big challenges in global affairs.
We have had the opportunity to compare notes about some of these big challenges in relation to the Middle East, in relation to our joint work in Afghanistan, and I have also very much appreciated the briefing that my colleague has provided on fears of this small immediate neighborhood.
I am very pleased that today we have managed to agree that we should work together, more closely in a bilateral sense, and establish structures that will see our two foreign affairs systems work closely together, but also agreed to support each other in multilateral fora where we both pursue similar endeavours, especially in relation to the United Nations.
So, this visit has for me reinforced the close alignment that we have as countries on the big issues that confront the world and has also led to us agreeing to work more closely together, as countries that share a very similar view of the way forward in relation to the challenges the world confronts.
Thank you.