Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis held a meeting today in his office with the new British Ambassador to Athens, Matthew Lodge, during which the particularly important relations between the two countries, which are based on strong historical ties, were confirmed.
The Alternate Minister stressed that Great Britain remains a key partner and ally of Greece, with a long presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and that the upgrading of our bilateral relations is a strategic goal for our country. In this direction, the Strategic Bilateral Framework plays an important role, which, as Mr. Varvitsiotis underlined, should become more ambitious and be extended to other areas of cooperation.
During the discussion, special emphasis was placed on the issue of providing facilities, both to British citizens residing or visiting our country, and to Greek citizens in the United Kingdom, through the improvement of the existing visa framework in both countries, according to the principle of reciprocity but also of the obligations of our country as a member state of the Schengen area. The Alternate Minister made special reference to the Greek students in British Universities, as well as to the Greek seconded teachers in the United Kingdom.
As Mr Varvitsiotis noted, although we are no longer partners in the EU, we remain allies and friends with the United Kingdom and within the context of our shared strategic ambitions we seek to build a strategic relationship of mutual benefit for the citizens of both countries in the post-Brexit era.
December 10, 2021