Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statements following his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Julio César Arriola (Asunción, 09.02.2023)

It is a great honour and a pleasure to be the first ever Greek Foreign Minister to visit Paraguay. I am really happy to be here today, my fourth stop of my trip to South and Central America.

And I am delighted that today we have signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations, which can be used as a springboard for the enhancement of our relations. I believe this is also the right time to bring a political vision to our partnership, moving forward with Agreements of cooperation in a vast number of areas.  Therefore, I am extremely happy that we have also signed an MoU on Diplomatic Academies. I feel honoured that I will deliver a speech to your Diplomatic Academy.

Our long-lasting friendship, our common values enable us to develop constructive cooperation on issues of common interest: economy, trade, energy, culture, cooperation in international organisations.

I am very pleased that we have agreed to mutually support each other’s candidacies for the UN Security Council.

We also discussed the EU-Paraguay relations, where I underlined that Greece, an EU member, can play a role. We would like the EU-Mercosur Agreement to be completed and signed the soonest possible. I am also looking forward to the EU-CELAC next July, an event we hope to turn into a milestone for bringing the two continents closer together.

Also, as the Minister was kind enough to mention, we had the opportunity to discuss issues of regional and global interest. Greek foreign policy is deeply rooted in the respect for International Law and the UN Charter, and also, the International Law of the Sea, UNCLOS.

So, I have to say that I have a huge respect for Paraguay, which being a landlocked country, has, nevertheless, subscribed to and ratified UNCLOS, showing how much it respects International Law.

Also, we have agreed during our discussion that we would have constant contact and help the group of landlocked countries in the United Nations and in the other international Fora.

At this point, also, please allow me to express my country’s determination to continue helping the people that were hit by the disastrous earthquakes in Turkey and in Syria.

I would also like on this opportunity to thank Paraguay for its contribution to UNFICYP in Cyprus with 12 Blue Helmets, and also, its principled stance on the Cyprus issue. Thank you so much.

Dear Minister, dear Julio, may I express my confidence that this visit today of myself and my team is just a beginning of a strong and fruitful cooperation between our countries, our societies, the people as well. So, I would like, respectfully, to ask you to accept an invitation to visit Athens the soonest possible. Αnd, please, also, allow me to thank you for your warm hospitality, which is greatly appreciated by us.

Thank you so much for making us feel at home.