On Wednesday, 14 November 2018, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha, attended the “ATHENA ‘18” Security and Crisis Management International Conference entitled “Turning Risk into Opportunity: An Efficient Crisis Management”. The Conference was held by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defence. It was attended by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General Christos Christodoulou, ambassadors and professors from Greek and foreign universities.

The Deputy Minister of National Defence, at her speech, stated amongst others the following:

“With the new challenges in geopolitical and geostrategic terms (terrorism, hybrid war, asymmetric threats, illegal immigration, the refugee issue, cyberwar, etc.) that jeopardize the efforts of the global community for peace and security, the Greek Government and in particular, the Ministry of National Defence, through sustained efforts at bilateral, trilateral or multi-lateral level, is seeking to prevent conflicts, to reduce tensions and to develop a mutual understanding and trust.

We are honestly seeking to establish an environment of trust, mutual understanding and cooperation between countries and people – especially in our wider region, despite the efforts of some actors aiming at creating instability and spreading insecurity.”