ATHENS – The main pillar of the government’s strategy is for Greek Universities to become more open to the world and for international collaborations to become stronger, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated on November 7, addressing the opening event of the Pharos Summit 2022 at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center on the cooperation of Greek and U.S. universities.

At the event, at which all Greek Universities and 30 major American universities were represented, Mitsotakis underlined that many of these collaborations have already been agreed and more will be agreed in the future, expressing his certainty that “there is real potential for the enhancement of academic ties between the two countries.”

Mitsotakis said that there was no better place than Greece for U.S. Universities that wish to extend their activity to other parts of the world, noting that Greece in 2022 was very different to Greece in 2012 or Greece in 2015, adding that the country “is a workshop of constant change.”

“Greece is not only a place to come and study archaeology, the classics and history; it is also a workshop of constant change. It is a country that has a very crucial geopolitical position, a country where, apart from classical studies, you can carry out research on migration, security and climate change,” the prime minister said.

He underlined that the government supports the public education system with the tax payers’ money, adding: “We have an obligation to offer students the best possible education and in order to be able to do this we must have the opportunity to cooperate with the best.”

Referring to the wider region, he said that the Eastern Mediterranean was a region in which the climate crisis is unfolding with great intensity, adding that Greece’s government was focused on the implementation of innovative public policy solutions.

“These solutions often stem from the academic work that you produce,” he added, addressing the gathered academics, “so, you will find in Greece not only a friendly country but also a government willing to further develop ideas that may arise from these academic collaborations. I am very pleased to see that many of these collaborations have been already announced. With great pleasure I was informed yesterday (Sunday), that Columbia University announced the establishment of an International Education Centre in Greece, which will focus on issues such as migration and climate change,” Mitsotakis said.

The Greek premier also noted that Greece is on the right path, it is a developing country with a growing economy, a dynamic society and talented people who constantly strive for something better.

It was also announced on the day that Yale University and the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) have come to a collaboration agreement, in the context of which Greek students who will participate in the joint program will be exempted from paying tuition fees. As part of this new partnership, EKPA graduate and doctoral students will be able to take one-semester or one-year courses at Yale’s science, medical and environmental schools, which will count toward their degree.

In coming days, representatives of the 30 American universities will visit universities across Greece, in order to consider the possibility of entering into further collaborations, or to deepen those launched over the last three years.