“Greece is proceeding with the recognition of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an organization with which we maintain centuries-old ties and which participates in significant charitable activities at international level nowadays”, stressed Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, speaking today at the session of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs, during the debate on the ratification, through the exchange of notes verbales, of the Agreement on the establishing of diplomatic relations between the Hellenic Republic and the ‘Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta’.
As Mr. Varvitsiotis said, Greece is historically tied with the Order, which “has defended Rhodes against attacks by the Ottoman and Muslim conquerors”. Furthermore, he noted that “the draft law comes at a time when we believe that there should be a deepening of our relations with the Vatican”, especially in view of the forthcoming first official visit of Pope Francis to Greece.
Referring to the ratification of the Economic Cooperation Agreement between Greece and Indonesia, the Alternate Minister stressed that a bilateral agreement with this important, in terms of economic size, emerging power is a “positive step towards deepening our economic relations, especially since our country has a special interest in strengthening the presence of Greek Shipping at the time when Indonesia is entering the shipbuilding sector”.
Referring to the ratification of the Agreement on the establishment of the EU-Latin America-Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC), Mr. Varvitsiotis said that this constitutes a European initiative which Greece is proceeding to ratify and which “aims to further broaden the cultural dialogue with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean”.
Regarding the ratification of “Annex XV of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies regarding World Intellectual Property Organization”, the Alternate Minister stressed that Greece is proceeding to ratify this Convention after many years, saying that “we are a country with a strong tradition of cultural heritage and cultural production”.
Finally, referring to the ratification of the Agreement on the Participation of the Republic of Croatia in the European Economic Area, Mr. Varvitsiotis underlined that “we are committed to the European Enlargement to our neighbourhood” and that this constitutes a basic obligation that “derives from the fact that Croatia is now an EU country and, of course, a good partner”.
November 18, 2021