The excellent relation between Greece and Israel which – as he mentioned – “is not dependent on any developments in the Middle East and it is not dependent on the relationship between Israel and any other country in the region”, was emphasized by the Ambassador of Israel to Greece Mr. Arye Mekel, after the meeting he had at noon at the Ministry of National Defence with the Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos.
During their meeting, which took place on the occasion of the Israel Independence Day at a very amiable and friendly environment, matters of mutual interest, pertinent to the Ministry of National Defence were discussed, as well as matters concerning the developments in the broader region of the South-eastern Mediterranean; afterwards, Mr. Panagiotopoulos and Mr. Mekel made the following statements:
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: I would like to thank my good friend, the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Athens, Mister Mekel, for the very useful and profound conversation and cooperation I had with him here, at the Ministry of National Defence.
During our discussion, we had the chance to make a review of all the issues concerning the cooperation between Israel and Greece, as far as the Ministry of National Defence is concerned.
We also had the chance to elaborate to broader matters of this region and to discuss the developments in the broader area, our neighbourhood, where Greece and Israel belong.
As conclusion, what I would like to underline is that we reiterated the will of both sides, the Ministries of Defence of both Greece and Israel, to continue and expand the close cooperation we have already started. This will, as it ensues from what we said during this discussion, generally reflects the intentions of the two governments.
Some visits that we will announce subsequently have been programmed and, of course, certain steps have been scheduled in the process of cooperation between the two sides.
I would like to thank once more the Ambassador of Israel for the very interesting discussion we had and for our continuous cooperation, and wish him many happy returns for the Israel Independence Day which is today.
A. MEKEL: We had a fruitful meeting with the Minister. There is no question that Minister Panagiotopoulos is one of the best friends of Israel and the current Greek Government and a great supporter of the relationship between the two countries.
We both said and reiterated, as we have done the last two, two and a half years that the relationship between Greece and Israel stands on its own two feet and it is not dependent on any developments in the Middle East and it is not dependent on the relationship between Israel and any other country in the region. So we are fully committed to the relationship between Israel and Greece. This cooperation is now very strong, it is actually on an unparalleled level, and it will continue in a number of areas, such as defence, energy, tourism, business etc. I told the Minister that out new Minister of Defence, General Yaalon, has received the letter of congratulations and invitation from Mr. Panagiotopoulos to visit Greece. Our Minister of defence would like to come here in the near future and we are now discussing possible dates that would be suitable to both Ministers.
