Merci cher ami. Votre excellence, Your Excellency,
It is such a pleasure to be in Niamey today.
I have to say again, I am honoured to be received by the President but also I am touched because this is the first ever visit of a Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs to Niger.
For me, this is my fifth trip to Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a fact that shows the importance that my country attaches to this particularly important part of the world. It also acknowledges the huge dynamism of the African continent. And it acknowledges the challenges that the continent, and the Governments of the countries of the continent face. Food insecurity, climate change, irregular migration, terrorism, all these issues are present in the Sahel.
I would also like to underline that we, Greece, are closer to the African continent than one might think. From our southern big island, which is Crete, it is just a 20 minutes flight to the coast of Africa. Historically also, we Greeks have seen the Mediterranean Sea as a bridge between the two continents. It was never in history a border, it was always a bridge. A bridge of people, a bridge for trade, a bridge for commerce, a bridge for cultural education.
So, we would like to strengthen our relations with you. Αnd as we are trying to understand your challenges, we would like you, as the up-and-coming power that you are-Africa will be the biggest continent, population-wise, in the world in a few years, your economy is growing at a spectacular pace although starting from quite a low point. So, we would like you, as an important and emerging power to understand the challenges we are facing in our region. Again, thank you so much for your hospitality. I am looking forward to signing the two Αgreements between our countries. Putting my signature on such an important document that first binds us together is for me a tie that makes me extremely happy. Thank you so much.