Deputy FM Kotsiras briefs parliamentary committee on initiatives for Greeks abroad

Upgrading the relationship with Greeks abroad is “a central government policy” put into practice through policies that improve their daily lives and will strengthen their ties to their homeland, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister George Kotsiras said in parliament on Wednesday.

Kotsiras spoke at a session of the Special Permanent Committee on Greeks Abroad on the initiatives the ministry is undertaking, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

He mentioned among others the use of e-tools (e.g. on gov.gr, and the mAIgov chat assistant), along with digitizing consular services, and the ministry’s Strategic Plan for Greeks Abroad (2024-2027), which was posted for public consultation on the same day.

About the latter, he described it as ‘a roadmap’, and “a strategy with specific priorities that is constantly updated.” The Strategic Plan, the deputy FM said, is the support of Greek networks and structures abroad, utilizing the community to promote issues of Greek interests, boosting ties with the Orthodoxy’s church ties, and promoting Greek language and culture, such at the platform staellinika.com.

Utilizing Greeks abroad ‘with a vision and targets’ relates to all of Greeks everywhere “and the defense of our national issues globally,” Kotsiras said.

Attending the briefing of the committee was Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy Ioannis Chrysoulakis.

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