June 11, 2021, Chișinău - In Athens, the Moldovan-Hellenic interministerial political consultations were conducted, led by the Secretary of State Dumitru Socolan and the Director General for Political Affairs of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kiriakos Loukakis. The head of the bilateral cooperation Directorate, Veaceslav Dobindă, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in Athens, Anatol Vangheli, were part of the Moldova delegation.
The meeting provided a detailed overview of the current state of cooperation and the prospects for boosting bilateral relations in political, economic and social terms, as well as strengthening the legal framework. The event provided an opportunity to exchange views on regional developments. Secretary of State Dumitru Socolan congratulated the Greek partners on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the revolution of 1821.
On this occasion, it was reaffirmed the commitment of both sides to deepen the dialogue, the political and the diplomatic corps, including the organization of the visit in the Republic of Moldova, of the head of diplomacy, from the Greek, Nikos Dendias, and the president of the inter-parliamentary friendship, Greek Moldavian, Konstantinos Maravegias.
Secretary of State Dumitru Socolan stressed the importance of exploiting the full potential of development in areas such as economic and investment, including by resuming, in the near future, the work of the Moldovan-Hellenic Intergovernmental Commission for economic collaboration – an effective mechanism for cooperation in priority sectors such as agriculture, transport, tourism, science and technology.
A special emphasis was placed on the topics of interest to the Moldovan community in Greece, thus the period for the next round of negotiations to finalize the text of the interstate agreement in the field of social security was agreed. It was also agreed to complete the preparatory procedures for signing the agreement in the field of driver's license conversion. In this context, the state secretary Dumitru Socolan appreciated the positive attitude of the Greek authorities towards the Moldovan diaspora and the support offered to the countrymen's associations for the preservation and promotion of Moldovan traditions and Customs.
The official also expressed deep gratitude for the constant support given by the Hellenic Republic in the European integration file, and reconfirmed Greece's support for advancing Moldova's relations with the EU within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Platform.
At the same time, the parties held an in-depth exchange of views on developments in the region and agreed on strengthening mutual regional and international support, including for the settlement of the Transnistrian dispute.
During the event, Secretary of State Dumitru Socolan paid a visit to the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic where he had a dialogue with the members of the Interparliamentary friendship group Hellenic-Moldavian, led by the deputy Konstantinos Maravegias.
During the visit to Athens, the Moldovan delegation held a dialogue with the Greek minister of Tourism Hary Theoharis on the topic of unlocking the travel of Moldovan citizens to Greece, and the Greek side agreed to include the Republic of Moldova in the list of countries whose citizens can travel to the Hellenic Republic for tourism purposes in the immediate period.
În cadrul evenimentului, secretarul de stat Dumitru Socolan a efectuat o vizită la Parlamentul Republicii Elene unde a dialogat cu membrii Grupului interparlamentar de prietenie eleno-moldav, condus de deputatul Konstantinos Maravegias.
Pe parcursul vizitei la Atena, delegația moldovenească a purtat un dialog cu Ministrul elen al turismului Hary Theoharis la subiectul deblocării călătoriilor cetățenilor moldoveni în Grecia, fiind întrunit acceptul părții elene pentru includerea în perioada imediat următoare a Republicii Moldova în lista țărilor, cetățenii cărora pot călători în Republica Elenă în scop turistic.
