Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias is scheduled for an official visit to China on August 27-29 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The Minister will meet Wang Yi on Monday and focus on joint actions carried out by the two countries, especially the One Belt, One Road investment plan and the Ancient Civilisations Forum - a diplomatic initiative that started in Athens with China as co-organiser.
On Tuesday, Kotzias will meet with China's Vice President Wang Qishan and the head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee Yang Jieqi. He will also speak at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), delivering a speech entitled "Greece-China: Commonalities and Differences, Past and Future."
Kotzias will conclude his visit to China in Shanghai on August 29, meeting local officials and business people at China's largest port and major economic hub before departing for Vienna to take part in the EU foreign ministers' meeting (Gymnich) on August 30-31.
He will be travelling to China on the recently introduced direct flight from Athens to Beijing.
Kotzias has already made three official visits to China in his capacity as Foreign Minister as part of a series of high-level contacts he initiated in May with the world's major decision-making centres such as the USA, Berlin, Russia and so forth.
This round of contacts will be concluded in Athens on September 6, with the arrival of the French foreign minister.
The minister's visit to China also forms part of a series of bilateral contacts that he has initiated in Asia, with trips to India, Singapore and S. Korea.
According to the official programme for the visit, Kotzias will start his trip in Beijing and then travel to Shanghai. During these visits, he will have meetings with China's foreign minister, vice president, high-ranking members of the Communist Party of China and Chinese business people.
According to diplomatic sources, the aim of these meetings will be to explore new avenues for cooperation between the two countries and build on the momentum in bilateral relations developed in recent years.
