Today, Tuesday 20 April 2021, the Minister of National Defence Mr, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Nikos Dendias, completed their joint visit to Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Ministers met with the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nayef bin Falah Al Hajraf, with whom Mr. Dendias representing the Hellenic Republic, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of consultations on matters of mutual interest.

Then they had a joint meeting with the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Fahran and signed an Agreement on the settlement of the status of the Armed Forces of the two countries. The contacts were concluded in Jeddah, with the two Ministers meeting with the Heir to the Throne, Minister of Defence and Alternate Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Following the completion of his visit to Saudi Arabia, the Minister of National Defence addressed the following:

“Today’s short but substantial visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia makes me extremely happy. Greece and Saudi Arabia have been united with strong ties of friendship, they have common concerns on the current geostrategic challenges and a joint vision for the future. Saudi Arabia is a pillar of stability in the region of the Gulf. Our desire is to work together to defend peace, stability , and prosperity in the wider region of south-eastern Mediterranean.

In the modern geostrategic context, the mutually beneficial defence cooperation of the two countries will improve the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces and shall contribute to the management of common challenges.

With this in mind, a battery of “PATRIOT” weapon system of our Air Force will be deployed in the period ahead and shall operate from Saudi Arabia grounds, in the context of the Multinational Plan of Activated Air-Defence on the protection of critical energy infrastructures in face of terrorist threats.

I would also like to express my satisfaction for the excellent cooperation of our Armed Forces, the most recent example of which is the joint training activity between the Saudi and the Hellenic Air Forces in Crete last March.

Finally, I would to thank from the bottom of my heart the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their very warm hospitality”.