NEW YORK – Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias attended the event for the official presentation of Greece’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2025-26 term on March 16. The event was held at the Morgan Library in Manhattan and was attended by many UN ambassadors from various nations, diplomats and officials as well as the media.

In his remarks, Dendias outlined three words as the compass for Greece’s candidacy- dialogue, diplomacy, and democracy.

“Three words are going to be our compass for our candidacy and, hopefully, for our tenure in the Security Council,” he said. “Three words that start with ‘D’, the Greek Delta. Three words with great meaning not only for Greece, but, I believe, for the entire world.”

“First, Dialogue, in Greek ‘διάλογος’. The act of exchanging reasonable arguments. According to Socrates, dialogue was the path to truth, the path to knowledge.

“Second, a word very well known to you: Diplomacy, in Greek ‘διπλωματία’. At its root, we find the world two, ‘δύο’. Diplomacy, of course, is based on dialogue. As peoples, as nations, using diplomacy through dialogue, we can overcome our differences. We can arrive at common solutions.

“Finally, Democracy, in Greek ‘δημοκρατία’. It literally means power of the people. Born in ancient Athens, democracy is also based on dialogue, the open exchange of arguments in the ‘αγορά’, there are no silent democracies. So, this is our 3D campaign.”

“As emblem of our candidacy, well, you can expect it, we have chosen the olive tree and its branch,” Dendias continued. “Since Goddess Athena planted the olive tree in Attica soil, it has represented peace and wisdom. It became the symbol of the Olympic Truce during the ancient Olympic Games, when all wars were in pause. A crown of olive leaves was the prize for the winner in the Olympic Games. It was the symbol of fair play. The olive tree is also a point of reference for Mediterranean countries and people throughout the centuries.”
He then highlighted the six priorities: “Greece, advocating dialogue, diplomacy and democracy will focus on six main priorities, if elected. (1) Peaceful settlement of disputes, (2) Respect for International Law and the rules and principles of the United Nations Charter, (3) Women, Peace and Security, (4) Climate change and Security, (5) Maritime security, and, last but not least, (6) Children in armed conflict.”

“The peaceful settlement of disputes is among the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter,” Dendias said. “Greece will do its best to contribute within the Security Council to the prevention and resolution of international disputes, and peace building.” “We will support the implementation of the Secretary General’s ‘Our Common Agenda’ to improve the UN – centered Crisis and Conflict response,” he noted. “Greece is strongly committed to promoting rules-based multilateralism, on the basis of International Law. In this context, we will cooperate with all members of the United Nations to uphold the collective security system established by the Charter, with particular emphasis on the prohibition of use or the threat of use of force.”

“Peace and security cannot prevail in the absence of development and growth,” Dendias said. “Greece concentrates its development efforts and allocates its aid aiming to contribute to the reduction of poverty and to equality in the world.”

Dendias then introduced Professor Elisa Konofagou and Professor Constantinos Daskalakis who also shared their remarks in favor of Greece’s candidacy. Prof. Konofagou “a pioneer scientist in the field of combining Engineering with Medicine, a Professor at Columbia University in Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, fighting against very serious diseases with non-invasive operations, she has received the NSF Career award 2007 for her achievements,” Dendias said, adding that Prof. Daskalakis is “one of the brightest and analytical minds. Professor at MIT’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, researcher in Theory of Computation and its interface with Economics, Game Theory, Machine Learning, Statistics and Probability Theory. At a very young age, he received world-class recognition after solving John Forbes Nash’s puzzle which had troubled scientists for over 60 years.”

Among those present were Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN Ambassador Evangelos C. Sekeris and his predecessor Ambassador Maria Theofili, as well as Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou. Consul General of Greece in New York Dinos Konstantinou and Consul of Greece Dimitris Papageorgiou also attended.

The event concluded with a charming musical presentation featuring vocalist Erini (a.k.a. Eirini Tornesaki) accompanied by Eduardo Mercuri on guitar and Anna Stromer on viola.