FM Gerapetritis and Portuguese counterpart discuss bilateral relations, regional developments

Bilateral relations, the shared values uniting the 2 countries, prospects for further cooperation, and developments successful the wider portion were the main topics discussed during the gathering successful Athens connected Monday betwixt Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and his Portuguese counterpart, Paulo Rangel.

In his statements, Gerapetritis praised the "strong bonds of friendship" betwixt Greece and Portugal, noting that the 2 countries stock galore communal traits, specified arsenic their committedness to the peaceful solution of disputes and their alignment connected determination information issues. He underlined that some nations connect peculiar value to maritime security, state of navigation, and respect for the Law of the Sea.

He besides mentioned that Greece and Portugal stock a communal knowing of the conflicts and crises successful the wider neighbourhood — including developments successful Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Referring specifically to Gaza, helium highlighted the communal stance of some countries successful supporting humanitarian assistance efforts and stressed the request to enactment to support the ceasefire.

Gerapetritis further noted that successful a clip of rising planetary geopolitical instability, the 2 countries stock a communal imaginativeness regarding the aboriginal of Europe — 1 that emphasises strategical autonomy and a stronger geopolitical relation for the European Union.

He added that they discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation, agreeing connected the request to fortify it further, portion besides addressing issues specified arsenic civilian extortion and migration. "We are looking guardant to the European Pact connected Migration," helium said, "so that determination volition beryllium a just part of responsibilities among EU subordinate states," adding that Greece and Portugal volition enactment unneurotic with 3rd countries to trim migration flows.

Finally, helium described Portugal arsenic a earthy successor to Greece connected the UN Security Council, expressing Greece’s enactment for Portugal’s candidacy.

On his part, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel began his remarks successful Greek, thanking Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for receiving him astatine the Maximos Mansion and Gerapetritis for their meeting.

"We stock the aforesaid imaginativeness and the aforesaid outlook connected the world," helium said, praising the fantabulous practice betwixt the 2 countries and their associated information successful planetary organisations. He noted that though some are medium-sized EU members, they person a immense planetary web acknowledgment to their ample diasporas.

He added that the talks covered Ukraine, the Middle East, and the challenges successful Africa, remarking that it would beryllium hard to amended bilateral relations further, arsenic they are already "extremely good." He pointed to the betterment of aerial connections betwixt the 2 countries successful caller years and noted that "we tin bash a batch unneurotic successful the vigor sector."

On migration, Rangel said that some Greece and Portugal are introduction points to the EU, and that migration poses a large situation for European countries. He stressed the request for a regulatory framework, explaining that "our countries request a workforce," portion emphasising that "we are against quality exploitation and amerciable migration — not against migration itself."