Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ speech at the ceremony announcing Greece’s donation to the Municipality of Berisso (Buenos Aires, 08.02.2023)

Honorable Mayor of Berisso, Mr. Gagliardi
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors of Argentina to Greece and of Greece to Argentina,
Ladies and gentlemen and, most importantly,
my dear children,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be here on the first-ever visit by a Greek Foreign Minister to Argentina. Greece and Argentina are countries that have shared excellent relations for decades, without a single recorded problem between them. The bridge that connects us is the thousands of citizens of Greek descent who live and prosper in Argentina.

I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate not only them but also all the citizens of Argentina for their tremendous victory in the Qatar World Cup. And looking at these young men wearing Argentina’s national team shirts, waving the Argentinian and Greek flags, I realize that there are worthy successors of Maradona and Messi. Both my compatriots and I love football. Not only as a sport, but also as an effort that builds conscience, teamwork, inventiveness, and efficiency. With this in mind, Greece will co-fund the construction of two football fields to be named “Greece”.

Of course, I’d like to thank the Mayor of Berisso for his cooperation. Berisso, of course, embodies the Olympic ideal of the coexistence of more than twenty communities. But I’ll be honest with you. The oldest Greek community in Latin America is active there.

I’d also like to thank Banco Nación, and personally Ms. Batakis, for our cooperation in turning this project into a success. I hope that these fields will give the opportunity to young people to join the national team of Argentina in the future. You will also allow me to add something on a more personal note. The team I support in Greece is called Panathinaikos. We could use some excellent football transfers from Argentina in the years to come.

Thank you very much.