NEW YORK – Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is holding a series of meetings with his counterparts on Friday in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Dendias started his contacts with his Moldovan counterpart and continued with the foreign ministers of Tanzania, North Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, as well as the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, while he is expected to have meetings with the foreign minister of India and the Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates for International Cooperation.

In particular, during the meeting with Moldova’s foreign minister, Dendias discussed the development of bilateral relations, the European perspective of Moldova, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the effects on the region of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

During the meeting with Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula, the prospects for cooperation in the fields of health, tourism, maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment were discussed, based on Greece’s and Tanzania’s shared respect for UNCLOS.

He then met with the Foreign Minister of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, and discussed the implementation of the Prespa Agreement, cooperation in the energy sector, developments in the Western Balkans and Greece’s support for the European perspective of North Macedonia.

This was followed by the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece and Madagascar, where Dendias and Madagascar’s Foreign Minister Richard James Randriamandrato discussed ways to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations and cooperation in tourism, marine environment protection and within the UN on the basis of their common adherence to UNCLOS.

In the meeting with his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, the Greek foreign minister discussed the situation in the Sahel, Western Sahara, the challenges in Africa due to the war in Ukraine and the cooperation between the two countries, including the possible provision of scholarships to Mauritanian officers.

During the meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Ukraine were discussed. Dendias was also being briefed on the UN Security Council discussion on Ukraine.

In addition to personal contacts, Dendias will participate in the ministerial session of the Forum of Ancient Civilisations and in the Transatlantic Dinner with the participation of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.