D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Good morning. I met today with the head of the main opposition party, Mr. Alexis Tsipras, who briefed me on the results of his recent trip to Latin America. As you know, the Foreign Ministry, within the framework of its institutional role, contributed to various organizational aspects of this visit. And let’s not forget that the representatives of the parties in the Hellenic Parliament are also representatives of Greece abroad, particularly when they have meetings with officials of countries with whom Greece maintains traditional relations of friendship and cooperation.
Especially in the current state of affairs, it is vital that we achieve the highest possible degree of understanding on national issues, on foreign policy issues, and confronting the current crisis is by no means solely a domestic issue. It requires that we build alliances and establish channels of communication and cooperation with our partners throughout the world. That is why each contact, each meeting, needs to add to the overall national effort to emerge from this crisis.
In this spirit, I would like to thank Mr. Tsipras for his briefing on his meetings in Argentina and Brazil. After all, good coordination is vital in supporting our countries international presence and image, which is a decisive prerequisite for enhancing Greece’s role on the international stage. Once again, I thank him and welcome him.
A. TSIPRAS: I had the opportunity to brief the Foreign Minister on the trip and official meetings we had with the heads of state and political leadership of major Latin American countries. Of course, I thank him for the institutional assistance the Foreign Ministry provided for the Greek mission.
We gained a wealth of experience from this trip. We didn’t go to copy models, but to gain important and interesting experience and, mainly, to internationalize the Greek problem and convey it to two countries that can become allies in Greece’s effort to exit the crisis, as well as allies in all the international organizations. We conveyed our experience to date and the difficult times the Greek people are going through, and we asked for their solidarity.
I think we found sympathetic ears. In the context of a globalized economy, distances play an ever smaller role. Thus, seeking allies on the international level is something that must be a top priority of our foreign policy. Greece is an equal member of the European institutions. Nevertheless, we have the potential to develop, on the inter-state level, cooperation with a number of countries that play an important role in the global economy. Two of these countries are Brazil and Argentina – South American countries. We explored this potential for cooperation on both the inter-state level and the EU-Latin America level.
I briefed the Foreign Minister in detail, and I believe that this trip and mission of ours can serve as a springboard for our turning the page, as a country, in our relations with Latin America and these specific countries. There is potential, and we are certain that we can capitalize on this potential.
January 3, 2013