See photos from the tour of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the Prefecture of Rhodope, where about half of the area's 112,000 people belong to the Muslim minority.
"Thrace is changing, I dare say that it is changing faster than the rest of Greece is changing. Every time I come to Thrace I am pleased to see the great progress being made," noted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his visit to the prefecture a few hours before attending the inauguration of the Greek-Bulgarian natural gas pipeline IGB on July 8.
"All of Thrace is an example of harmonious coexistence of Christians and Muslims. I never want to forget that my father, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, was the one who practically established equality and equal statehood in Thrace. We still have a lot to do," he said.
"In Thrace there is an extremely detailed Conclusion of the Inter-Party Committee, which was established for this very purpose and we intend to serve it and with the support of the local Self-Government, the Region, we will move so that the great changes that have begun in Thrace to speed up even more," Mitsotakis noted while talking to citizens of Komotini during his visit to the city centre.
The Prime Minister walked in the centre of Komotini and visited the Yeni Mosque where he had a short dialogue with the Mufti of Komotini, Cihat Halil, the Mufti of Komotini, Osman Hamza, the Mufti of Xanthi, Hemseri Nezden and wished "all the best together with happiness for all Muslim Greeks", for the great holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Also present were the President of the Administrative Committee of the Muslim Property of Xanthi, Halil Karandais, the President of the Administrative Committee of the Muslim Property of Komotini, Selim Isa and the President of the Administrative Committee of the Muslim Property of Didymoteicho, Irfan Molla.
Immediately after his arrival in Thrace, the Prime Minister attended the inauguration ceremony of the camps of the Holy Diocese of Maroneia and Komotini, which have been included in the Public Investment Program.
"We provide the necessary support, the funds, the vision, the plan, so that Thrace today can really be the player in a changing Greece," said Mitsotakis.
He urged the young children to keep the memories of the experiences of the camp alive with them, as he said, "they will be experiences that will accompany you for a lifetime".
At the same time he was guided around the facilities.
"This important project for the new generation of Thrace is just one proof that what we say we can put into practice in cooperation with the Regional and Local Government. To launch projects that are beneficial for the citizens, primarily beneficial for the new generation. It is our duty for the next generation to be better than us and to be able to star in a Greece that will stand out and not be left behind," Mitsotakis emphasised.
Earlier, the Prime Minister was guided by the President of the Cultural Association of Xylagani, Maria Papadopoulou, the Mayor of Maroneia, Konstantinos Haritopoulos and the Member of Parliament for Rodopi, Evripides Stylianidis, to the Folklore Museum of the Cultural Association of Xylagani, founded in 1981 by refugees from Eastern Roumelia and of Eastern Thrace who settled in the area in 1922 and 1924.
It is noted that Konstantinos Mitsotakis played an important role in the creation of the Museum.
See photos from the tour of K. Mitsotakis:
During his tour in Thrace, the Prime Minister was accompanied by the Member of Parliament for Rodopi for New Democracy, Evripidis Stylianidis, the MPs of Evros of New Democracy, Tasos Dimoshakis, Christos Dermentzopoulos, Stavros Keletsis, and the Regional Governor of Eastern Macedonia - Thrace, Christos Metios.
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