
G. GERAPETRITIS: Today is a special day for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We welcome Tasos Chatzivasileiou, the new Deputy Minister, and we bid farewell, only temporarily, to Kostas Fragogiannis.
On 9 July 2019, Kostas Fragogiannis was sworn in as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness. A person who was unknown to the general public, but who was well known and respected in society due to his professional career. A person who contributed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with his unique intelligence, his expertise and, mainly, his dedication to the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the Prime Minister’s initiative, Economic Diplomacy and Openness became a major pillar of Greek diplomacy, of Greek foreign policy, and there was no better person to undertake this role than Kostas Fragogiannis. Kostas himself set the framework for Economic Diplomacy and Openness. He is very much the person who shaped what we call a strategy in this field for Greece. He contributed in many ways to significantly raising the level of Foreign Direct Investments, Greek exports, and upgrading our country’s diplomatic footprint in the world. And for that, we owe him our sincere gratitude. Kostas Fragogiannis honoured me with his cooperation and friendship, and for this I am grateful.
Tasos Chatzivasileiou will serve in a position that is not unknown to him. With a deep knowledge of foreign policy, he is being called upon to meet a very high standard. It’s no easy task. On the other hand, we know how capable Mr. Chatzivasileiou is. And mainly how willing he is to serve his country. And I am absolutely certain that he will continue and build upon the work of Kostas Fragogiannis in service of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, always in service of our homeland.
Today we have two reasons to feel joy and one to feel sadness. There is joy for the arrival of Tasos Chatzivaseiliou and for the fact that Kostas Fragogiannis remains active, in service of our homeland, as the Prime Minister’s advisor on issues of openness, and in a sense, this dissipates the slight sadness at his temporary departure.
All the best, Kostas!
Tasos, you are called upon to serve in the large family of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Ministry in which the political leadership and the administrative personnel are on particularly friendly terms with one another, and for this reason we welcome you with great pleasure.
K. FRAGOGIANNIS: Dear Minister, dear Tasos, dear colleagues.
It really is a day of mixed feelings. Five and a half years ago, the Prime Minister asked me to take over Greece’s Economic Diplomacy and Openness. And over the past five and a half years, we elevated Economic Diplomacy to the level it is today. We succeeded in integrating all the agencies related to Openness and Economic Diplomacy into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We delivered significant results by strengthening our bilateral and multilateral relations. But also, through the two organisations that operate under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely Enterprise Greece and Export Credit Greece, bringing about spectacular results in exports, amounting to a 55% increase year on year. And today we are very close to achieving the goal of exports of products and services making up 60% of GDP in 2027.
In terms of attracting foreign investments – although it is our responsibility to attract foreign investments rather than implement them – over these five and a half years we have attracted 58 strategic investments, 45 of which have been approved, with a worth of about €11 billion, creating some 9,500 jobs.
I achieved none of this on my own, Minister. We achieved all of this together. And for this I need to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister for his trust, my appreciation for the support and guidance you gave me, my appreciation and my gratitude to you, Ms. Papadopoulou, to you, dear Giorgos, the Deputy Ministers, to my colleagues, to the General Secretaries and to the whole Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their enormous assistance in this endeavour. A big thank you to my Diplomatic and Private Office. I was privileged to have very capable people who supported me all these years. A big thank you to my colleagues at Enterprise Greece and Export Credit Greece. And of course, to all the other Ministries, since, as you know, Tasos, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a horizontal relationship with many Ministries and collaborates closely with all of them. So, a big thank you to the other members of the government.
I also want to tell you, Minister, that one has to realise in life and at work, in family and in politics, that they have limited capabilities to do what the Prime Minister assigns to them. When he assigned me to take the lead of Economic Diplomacy, five and a half years ago, we did not agree that I would work five hours a week or five days a month, but that I would assume the responsibility for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, for everything that would be required.
Under those circumstances, therefore, not long ago, as you are well aware, I carefully reflected on my capabilities. And when I reached the conclusion that I could not operate within the scope and requirements of my job – with the same zeal and passion of the preceding five years – I decided to pass the baton.
And there is no better person than Tasos Chatzivasileiou to take over from me. Tasos, welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcome to the family of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I feel a slight sadness saying goodbye to very good friends and colleagues from all these years, but I am certain that my successor will be very successful in this role. I wish you every success and luck.
Lastly, I want you to know that, besides the typical handover, I will be at your disposal for whatever you need, on any matter, in the months to come. Once again, welcome, warm thanks to all of you.
T. CHATZIVASILEIOU: Thank you very much, Minister, Deputy Ministers.
It is a very important joyous day for me, an emotional day. I would like to thank Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wholeheartedly for the honour he bestowed upon me today by appointing me Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and for the trust he has placed in me over the years. I am especially grateful to him.
I am returning today to a familiar place, since I worked here when I was younger, in another capacity, from 2007 to 2009, under the leadership of the very experienced Dora Bakoyannis as Minister.
And today I arrive as the new Deputy Minister to serve under the firm guidance of Minister Gerapetritis, who is a man of responsibility, a man who has devised and is implementing a plan that is comprehensive and is constantly upgrading the country’s international geopolitical position. And of course, to work together with two good old friends of mine.
Giorgos Kotsiras and Alexandra Papadopoulou, with whom we share a close friendship for many years now. But above all, Minister, I am coming to continue where Kostas Fragogiannis left off. A person who was one of the most successful Ministers in the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis; a person who has always worked discreetly and quietly, promoting his work first and foremost.
And, dear Kostas, from everything you have achieved over these five and a half years, I can single out some of your initiatives, which I would also like to continue. First of all, the Positive Agenda between Greece and Türkiye, to which I know you have devoted a great deal of time and energy. It is an important area that serves as a channel of communication with our neighbours, and that is where you really have accomplished a lot.
Your initiative on Astypalaia, this smart and sustainable island that essentially places our country on the forefront of the green transition on a European level and even globally.
But also, the major opening you have achieved in these years in countries mainly in the Arab World, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where you successfully created new opportunities for the Greek economy, creating tangible results.
Therefore, I am committed to continuing the strategy that you have mapped out and that you successfully implemented over these five and a half years, since I believe, Minister, that Economic Diplomacy really is an important pillar of foreign policy, through which our country can reap benefits on very important issues.
Once again, I would like to express my gratitude for the warm welcome and to state that I will remain fully committed to the strategy you have forged, that I too will do my best to achieve our common goals.
Once again, I would like to remind you that today, on this important day, I feel the weight of my personal responsibility, first of all towards Serres, where I am from, and towards my homeland, Greece.
Thank you very much for welcoming me.
January 20, 2025