Dendias: International Law and the International Law of the Sea is the holy book of our foreign policy

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“For Greece, International Law and the International Law of the Sea are the holy gospel, the holy book of our foreign policy. And we are happy to discuss and cooperate with countries and leaders who have the same approach as us” explained Nikos Dendias.

With the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation and strengthening relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is making the first visit by a Greek foreign minister to the Ivory Coast, as part of a three-day tour of West Africa.

Speaking before a working lunch with Ivory Coast’s foreign minister, Kadia Kamara in Abidjan, the country’s largest city, Nikos Dendias expressed his belief that relations between Greece and Ivory Coast can be further developed and underlined Greece’s readiness to take specific steps to strengthen them.

“Our geographical proximity and interconnected challenges, such as migration, terrorism, the need for economic development, the need to create a better life for our citizens, make Côte d’Ivoire a very important partner for us,” he noted.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized the fact that the Ivory Coast is a member of the group of friends of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), foreseeing a large field of cooperation.

“For Greece, International Law and the International Law of the Sea are the holy gospel, the holy book of our foreign policy. And we are happy to discuss and cooperate with countries and leaders who have the same approach as us” explained Nikos Dendias.

Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that humanity made a mistake after the Second World War, especially Europe, who lived in the hope that war would not return.

“This is something that should give us more and more determination, in order to create an example that will show that any violation of international law, not respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries, is something that cannot be accepted by the international community” he underlined and praised Ivory Coast for its “clear and principled stance towards this illegal invasion of a sovereign country”.

At the same time, he noted that Ivory Coast is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Expressing Greece’s interest in considering potential investment opportunities in Ivory Coast, the Foreign Minister pointed out that our country has significant experience in tourism, construction, both in urban and rural projects, in the production of advanced building materials, in energy production , especially from renewable energy sources, water and waste management, information and telecommunications technology and health services.

In this context, he expressed his confidence that the two countries could create the conditions under which their business communities could cooperate and create successful projects.

Afterwards, he underlined that Greece is a great naval power. “The Greek-owned merchant fleet is the largest in the world,” he said, indicating that 50% of grain exports from Ukraine are carried by Greek-owned ships. Regarding the Gulf of Guinea, he pointed out that it is a very important maritime route, stressing that its security is very high on the Greek agenda.

Furthermore, he expressed Greece’s appreciation for the joint support agreement regarding the UN Security Council candidacies: Greece supported the candidacy of Côte d’Ivoire in 2018-2019 and Côte d’Ivoire will support Greece’s candidacy in 2025 -2026.

In addition, with regard to the cooperation of the two countries within the framework of international organizations, Nikos Dendias expressed Greece’s will to cooperate with the Ivory Coast in the International Organization of Francophonie, of which our country became a member in 2006.

He made special reference to the EU’s initiatives in Africa, stressing that Greece as a member state wants to cooperate with the Ivory Coast through the “Team Europe” approach. “Europe needs to understand Africa more. And also, Europe must realize that Africa is not a distant continent,” he noted.

Finally, he did not fail to congratulate the President of the Ivory Coast for his “responsible, wise and successful” handling of the crisis of the 49 soldiers held for months by the Malian authorities.

It is noted that during the meeting of the two foreign ministers, two memoranda were signed between the foreign ministries of Greece and Ivory Coast: Memorandum of Understanding for Political Consultations and Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training.

Then, during a working lunch, Nikos Dendias and Kadia Kamara, exchanged views on the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the economy, investments, agriculture, tourism and examined the prospects for further development of the economy of the Ivory Coast.

After the meeting with his Ivorian counterpart, Nikos Dendias met in Abidjan with the vice president and officials of the African Development Bank (AfDB), with whom he discussed the bank’s activities for economic development and social progress in the Africa. He also met with Protopresbyter Jeremiah, High Priestly Commissioner of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.

RES-EMP

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