President of the Hellenic Republic on State Visit to Slovakia

 

 

“Cherishing our shared values and friendship.”

 

President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou confirmed the excellent relations between Greece and Slovakia in a meeting with her Slovakian counterpart Zuzana Čaputová, during a State Visit to Bratislava on March 13th-15th.

After a reception ceremony, the two Heads of State had a meeting at the Presidential Palace, following by talks between the delegations of the two sides.

In a joint press conference, President Sakellaropoulou expressed her satisfaction that her visit coincides with the 20th Anniversary since Slovakia joined the European family, following the signature of the relevant treaty in Athens in 2003.

She also noted that her meeting with President Čaputová established the excellent level of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest, such as defence cooperation, civil protection, energy and tourism. She said there was a constructive exchange of views on current regional and international developments.

The Greek President referred to geopolitical issues, such as the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East and the need to get humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilian population, as well as Greece’s participation in the EU operation ‘Aspides’ in the Red Sea.

She briefed her Slovakian counterpart on the course of Greek-Turkish relations and reiterated the need to resume talks on a solution to the Cyprus issue, while noting her discussion with President Čaputová regarding the accession of the Western Balkans to the European Union. The two sides also agreed that there was no time to waste, or for compromises for political and economic reasons, as regards the climate crisis.

On her part, President Čaputová said that it was a great pleasure to host the Greek President on her official visit to Slovakia, “cherishing our shared values and friendship.”

“The visit celebrates the excellent relations as EU partners and NATO Allies and provides another impetus to deepen them even more in areas such as green transition, energy cooperation or security,” she said.

 

President Sakellaropoulou also met with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, at the Prime Ministerial Mansion, which was followed by extended discussions involving delegations from both countries. She also met with the Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Peter Pellegrini.

Earlier, President Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath at the Gate of Freedom, at the monument dedicated to those who lost their lives between 1948 and 1989 while trying to escape to Western Europe. Subsequently, President Sakellaropoulou was then guided through the Devin Castle.

The President of the Republic was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Kotsiras, who signed, on behalf of the Greek Government and the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of disaster prevention and response with the Deputy Minister of Interior of Slovakia, Lucia Kurilovská (pictured below).

 

(Photos: Th.Manolopoulos/Hellenic Presidency.)