Deputy FM Gerontopoulos visits Moldova

Hellenic MFA, Friday, 24 October 2014:

 

Deputy Foreign Minister Kyriakos Gerontopoulos visited Moldova on Thursday, 23 October. He met in the capital, Chisinau, with Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iulian Groza, with whom he discussed Greek-Moldovan bilateral relations, developments in the wider region, and issues concerning Moldova’s European perspective. Mr. Groza expressed his government’s gratitude to Greece, during whose EU Presidency, in the first half of 2014, the Schengen visa requirement was waived for Moldovan citizens.

Mr. Gerontopoulos then met with the Governor of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Mihail Formuzal, who briefed him on issues and problems concerning his region.

Mr. Gerontopoulos then visited the city of Comrat, the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, where he was received by the Speaker of the Gagauzian People's Assembly, Dmitry Konstantinov, and MP Ivan Topal, who is among the ardent supporters of Greek language learning by Gagauzians and has helped significantly in that direction.

Mr. Konstantinov thanked Mr. Gerontopoulos for carrying out this first visit to the region by a representative of the Greek government, expressing the desire for closer cooperation with Greece in various sectors.

Mr. Gerontopoulos stressed that “we are linked to the Gagauz by the Orthodox Christian faith and by the same cultural values. I am pleased to be in your region, and I am also pleased at the fact that the University of Comrat and the Pedagogical College offer classes in the Greek language. We support this effort to even further increase the number of Gagauz who choose to learn Greek. I hope and believe that our cooperation will become even better.”

Mr. Gerontopoulos then visited the city’s university, where the Rector, Ms. Zinaida Arikova, together with professors, briefed him on the institution’s Greek Language and Culture Department.

Mr. Gerontopoulos visited a lecture hall and delivered books of modern Greek literature to students. He also visited the Pedagogical College of Comrat, where Greek is also taught, and was briefed by Director Maria Tanasoglou.

On the evening of the same day, Mr. Gerontopoulos met with the board and members of the Greek Community of Chisinau, who briefed him on the problems they are facing and their requests, while he briefed them on the efforts being made to accelerate the procedures for obtaining Greek citizenship, referring to the recent initiative he took personally, holding a meeting with the co-competent Ministries of the Interior and Citizen Protection in order to find solutions on this specific matter. He also noted that the Hospitality Programmes for Young Greeks Abroad have started again, inviting interested members of the local community to take part.

 mfa.gr

24/10/14

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