The Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for expatriate Hellenism 2024-2027 “provides the vision for the connection of metropolitan Hellenism with the diaspora, which personalizes the needs of expatriates”, underlined the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis, in his greeting at the event for the presentation of the Plan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The Hellenism of the Diaspora is not only a piece of soft power”, underlined Mr. Gerapetritis. “It is also the feeling of belonging, which the Greeks abroad must have. And this feeling of belonging is what we try to strengthen in every way, from the youngest to the oldest”.

As he mentioned, of the 13 cities around the world with a population of Greek origin over 100 thousand inhabitants, 6 are in metropolitan Greece and 7 are abroad. “We have 7 cities around the world, which have a population of more than 100 thousand people of Greek origin. And this is our great strength”, he emphasized.

“I feel that once again we are giving the true meaning to our Constitution”, emphasized Mr. Gerapetritis. “The Constitution is that which dictates that the nation is the one on whose behalf the powers are exercised. The nation is the one that participates in the formation of the Greek political will through the exercise of political rights. And it is the Constitution, article 108, which states that the state takes care of the life of Greek expatriates and the ties with metropolitan Greece”.

As he pointed out, the Plan “takes advantage of modern technologies, which enable us to reduce distances to zero with digital means and personalizes the needs, which exist, to provide better services”.

“This Plan is a product of the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was not something that was done with any outside cooperation. The staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are always on the front line. And with a logic of always greater service to the homeland”, he underlined, while thanking the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the General Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy and the Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He added the importance that the government placed on diaspora Hellenism. As he recalled, the first major government action was the constitutional review of article 54, paragraph 4 of the Constitution, which allowed the vote of those outside the territory to be facilitated in a way that allowed the expatriate Greek to feel that he was close to the metropolis and that he was shaping the choices.

They followed, as he mentioned, “two laws, which were in line with the constitutional imperative, so that today we can proudly say that now all the obstacles have been removed, which concern procedures and conditions for the Greek to be able from the position in which is, through a postal vote, to exercise his right to vote”.

“We are in a closed “club” of countries that have zero obstacles in the exercise of the right to vote for citizens”, he pointed out characteristically.

He noted that in recent years there has been a great effort to make the life of Greeks abroad easier, particularly by making use of modern technologies and above all by providing quality consular services through digital media.

“MyConsulLive” already utilizes the modern structures of artificial intelligence, so that it becomes much easier for Greeks to do business abroad. And of course the legislation, which was recently passed, according to which most of the process for issuing passports by Greeks abroad is now digitized, in cooperation with the Ministry of Citizen Protection, so that the life of Greeks will be much easier of foreign countries” stated Mr. Gerapetritis and concluded:

“We give the true meaning to the Constitution. We bring together Greeks everywhere. It is our great strength, today much more than perhaps yesterday. Greece is everywhere and we will make sure to bring it as close as possible”.