“Australia was among the first countries I wanted to visit the moment I assumed the portfolio,” Greece’s Deputy Minister Konstantinos Vlassis told members of the Greek diaspora during a video call facilitated by Paul Nicolaou, of the Business Leaders Council of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Greek Consul General Christos Karras in Sydney.
Attended digitally by more than 100 people from around Australia, the representative for Greeks living abroad, said he couldn’t imagine a better birthday present on the day of his 46th birthday on Wednesday, 7 July.
The real “gift” of course was to the diaspora, offering them a chance to ask questions (though these were vetted and approved by his department beforehand), and in a very regulated meeting, he outlined his three priorities: 1) to maintain the language and culture; 2) to digitise services; and 3) to strengthen bonds between Greeks abroad and Greece.