Your Excellency, Dear Guests,
It is a great honor to be invited at the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence. Please accept my sincere congratulations for this important anniversary.
The world of today has changed dramatically since the 1990’s. Kazakhstan has overcome the obstacles of the first years of independence. It has now become a focal point for peace, stability, and prosperity in Central Asia.
Official Greek-Kazakh relations started on the 27th of September of 1992. The first Greek Embassy opened in Almaty in 1997 and was transferred to Nur-Sultan in April 2009. Kazakhstan upgraded its diplomatic mission in Athens to an Embassy in 2009.
Οur bilateral relations are based on friendship and mutual respect. This was also confirmed during my recent meeting with your Foreign Minister in Stockholm. It is obvious that our relations can be further enhanced in a number of important fields. The interest is mutual.
Let me give some examples:
Our views on major international and regional issues are very similar.
We have developed a very good cooperation within the UN system in the field of candidacies
The longstanding presence of 10.000 people of Greek descent in Kazakhstan, as well as 80.000 Kazakh citizens in Greece – many of them of Greek origin.
They all contribute to the bonds of friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples.
Our trade volume is limited and comprised mainly of oil and gas products.
There is ample room for academic and cultural cooperation- our respective diasporas can contribute here as well.
We are extremely lucky to have here in Greece a Kazakh Ambassador who is very active. Contacts between the respective authorities and agencies are being planned. Hopefully we will soon have a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
I was also recently informed that the Ambassador has taken the initiative to propose to the township of Acharnes to have a road named after Kazakhstan, due to the presence of a large number of residents with Kazakh citizenship. I congratulate you on this idea, since this is the type of events that bring our peoples together.
2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Greek- Kazakh relations. There is a lot of work to do in this regard – and I am looking forward to it.
Thank you.