The king cake of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cut at noon by the head of the Greek diplomacy Giorgos Gerapetritis, with by his side the deputy ministers of foreign affairs Alexandra Papadopoulou and Giorgos Kotsiras, as well as the general secretary Theresia (Teresa)-Paraskevi Angelatou.

In his greeting, G. Gerapetritis suggested the need to improve the level of work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strengthen its staff and restructure the building infrastructure, both in Greece and abroad, by incorporating financial tools. In this direction, he said that there will be a legislative initiative so that there is a better utilization of the public property of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs abroad. In addition, he announced that the technical service of the Ministry will be strengthened and that there will be a complex medical care, with a doctor on duty.

In particular, he referred to the problems that exist in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “I had the opportunity to see and study them. I know the issues that have to do with understaffing and the lack of infrastructure and the lack of resources” he acknowledged and added: “It is important to have a work environment that supports quality work, and above all to be human-centered. The person and how they feel is important in every work environment. We try to create those conditions so that you feel good in your workplace. To be able to feel that we are in a team and we are on a single mission, to serve the motherland, to help the national interests, to take the country forward.”

To deal with this situation, he underlined that a very big effort is being made to improve the actual situation. More specifically, he said that at the level of human resources, the competition for embassy assistants was completed in 2023 and added that two more are likely to be held in 2024, while a series of other competitions are underway to strengthen the ministry’s staff, such as the Legal Service, administrative consular officers. With regards to the competitions, he wanted to underline that they will be done in a way that is as much as possible adapted to modern needs and with fast procedures.

Addressing the executive staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gerapetritis committed to a regular and periodic communication, and emphasized that his will is to improve the level of their work, which also reflects on the effectiveness of the Ministry itself, as he pointed out. In fact, he emphasized that the leadership of the Ministry is making a great effort to hold regular, periodic and timely meetings of the Service Council, stating that in the second half of 2023, 10 Service Councils were held.

Afterwards, he spoke about the digital upgrade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that since January 1, a series of digital tools have been activated, including the digital assistant, and he announced that the telecommunications network of the Ministry will be upgraded, so that it can keep up with the evolution of technology .

Finally, he wished Happy Birthday, prosperity and that the new year be as sunny as today, while expressing his thanks to the Ministry’s human resources for their “great work”. Further highlighting the importance he attaches to the Ministry’s human resources, he said that “we rely on you and it is my belief that we rely on the staff of the Ministry and the good functioning of the public servant.” As he pointed out, the staff of the Greek public sector is a source of energy and prudence when given the opportunity to work under conditions that will be effective and beneficial for our country.