ATHENS – Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will visit Paris on Tuesday, February 22, to take part in the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, organised by the French Presidency of the EU Council.

The foreign ministers of the EU member-states will participate in the meeting, along with their counterparts from roughly 30 countries of the Indo-Pacific area, as well as representatives of European institutions and regional organisations, a foreign ministry announcement said on Monday.

The main topic of the forum is to seek ways to establish and strengthen relations and bonds between the EU and the countries of the Indo-Pacific region based on multilateral diplomacy and respect for international law, including the Law of the Sea. The participant ministers will meet and discuss – for the first time in this formation – intiatives and programmes to further boost the partnership relationship between the EU and Indo-Pacific.

After the opening session, three round tables will be held on the following issues: security and defence, interconnectivity and digital policy and finally international issues. The Greek foreign minister will take part in the round table on security and defence.

On the sidelines of the forum, Dendias is expected to meet in private with his counterparts from New Zealand, Nanai Mahuta, Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, India, Dr. Jaishankar, the Philippines, Teodoro Locsin, and Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan.