Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias had the opportunity to meet with the Greek diaspora in South Africa during his trip to Pretoria.
"During the meeting with the members of the Federation of Hellenic Communities of South Africa, I had the opportunity to tell them how proud Greece is that Greek Diaspora have managed to thrive over the years, through difficult circumstances. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their welcome," he wrote on Twitter.
Dendias on Tuesday told reporters that his visit to South Africa was an opportunity to offer thanks to the country for its support of Greece's bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and to also seek the vote of other sub-Saharan countries.
He pointed out that his visit was the first by a Greek foreign minister to the country in 25 years, while he also had the opportunity to meet his South African counterpart.
"As is well known, South Africa is a very important country, the second-largest economy on the continent but also a country with great influence in the surrounding region," he said.
Dendias said his meetings provided an opportunity to analyse the global situation after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pointing out that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had visited on Monday and a visit by EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, was imminent.
He said that they also discussed areas where Greece and South Africa might collaborate, such as in energy, shipping, farming and the exchange of knowhow and he highlighted the opportunities to meet representatives of the country's thriving Greek community and to visit a Greek school.
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