The Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Hardalias, on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September 2022, paid an official visit to the Czech Republic, accepting an invite extended to him by the Czech Deputy Defence Minister for Industrial Cooperation, Mr. Tomas Kopecny.

The Deputy Minister of National Defence participated in the “NATO Days 2022” meeting, organized in parallel with the “Czech Air Force Days 2022”, by the Czech Ministry of Defence at the Leos Janacek airport in Ostrava. The events, which are public diplomacy meetings, were attended by Ministers, Deputy Ministers and high ranking officials from EU and NATO m-s.

In the margins of “NATO Days 2022”, Mr. Hardalias had a series of meetings with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mr. Petr Fiala, with his counterparts, and with high ranking officials from other countries’ delegations.

In the context of his visit, the Deputy Minister of National Defence had a bilateral official meeting with his counterpart Mr. Tomas Kopecny.

Mr. Hardalias and Mr. Kopecny reiterated, in a very cordial meeting, the strong traditional ties connecting Greece and the Czech Republic as close EU partners and NATO allies. They had a fruitful discussion on the perspectives, capabilities and opportunities for further enhancement of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of Defence and the Defence-Technical field. They exchanged views on the current global and regional developments, as well as on their implications on the security and stability in Europe, the Balkans and the East Mediterranean.

As their meeting concluded, the two Deputy Ministers underlined their strong interest and common will to enhance cooperation between the two countries at all levels within EU and NATO, to further promote peace, security and stability in Europe, at the Balkan and the East Mediterranean region, in a geopolitically unstable environment, characterized by unprecedented multileveled and multidimensional challenges.