Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statement following his meeting with the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis (Bern, 11.11.2021)

It was with great pleasure that I visited Bern today, on the first official visit of a Greek Foreign Minister after about twenty years.

First of all, what connects us with Switzerland is a great historical figure, Ioannis Kapodistrias, the man who conceived the modern Swiss Constitution; but beyond that, a number of things, such as the Olympic ideals, but also our commitment to peace and stability.

We discussed several issues: Swiss-European Union relations, challenges in the Western Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean and Libya.

I want to emphasize that Switzerland is participating in the Conference on Libya tomorrow in Paris.

We also discussed cooperation in international organizations, such as Switzerland’s support for Greece’s candidacy for the UN Security Council.

In general, our relationship with Switzerland is of importance to us. Switzerland is a country that plays a special role in international affairs.

And I want to emphasize something that is not known at all. Switzerland, despite being a landlocked country, has signed UNCLOS, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This might be an example for other countries, which border the sea, but disregard the International Law of the Sea.