The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias welcomed today, Tuesday 12 November 2024, at the Ministry of National Defence, the Defence Minister of Zambia Ambrose Lwiji Lufuma, in the framework of his official visit to our country.

Other individuals attending the welcome and the talks of the two delegations were the Deputy Minister of National Defence Giannis Kefalogiannis, the Chief of HNDGS General Dimitrios Choupis, the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis, the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras HN and the Chief of HAFGS Lieutenant General (Pilot) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis.

When the two Ministers met in private and during the meeting of the two delegations, they had the opportunity to exchange views regarding geopolitical developments in the wider region, as well as the perspective for enhancement of the defence relations between Greece and Zambia.

Mr Dendias and Mr Lufuma signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which pertains to the attendance of the Military Personnel of Zambia to Higher Military Education Institutions of our country.

The said Memorandum is integrated in the general framework of enhancement of relations with countries of the African Continent which is exceptionally important for Greece, through defence diplomacy.

It is expected that soon there will be an opportunity for the signing of similar Memoranda – already in the final processing stages – also with other countries of Africa (like Cape Verde, Rwanda, Mozambique).

Moreover, procedures have begun for the negotiation and signing of military training Memoranda with other African states too.

After the conclusion of the meeting, the Minister of National Defence stated the following:

“Honourable Minister,

I would like to begin with a warm welcome, but also with my congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Zambia’s independence.

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Greece. It is a historic first visit of a Defence Minister from Zambia to Greece, and moreover a visit accompanied by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

This Memorandum constitutes a first step for the establishment of a defence cooperation between our two countries and is included in the wider framework of our defence diplomacy for the African Continent, which is very important for us.

Minister, we attribute great significance to the enhancement of our defence cooperation and I think that we both agreed that there is yet much to do for the evolution of our relations.

Our general staffs can accurately determine the fields where this cooperation can take shape. Fields where we can cooperate is the training of your Military Academies’ students in our own Military Academies, exchange visits with an opportunity for knowledge exchange, joint participation in multinational exercises, initially via observers, and your participation in the defence innovation system being established in Greece.

As I told you, Greece moves forward with a great reform in the Ministry of National Defence, of the Hellenic Armed Forces. We call it the “2030 Agenda” and we would be willing to share with you the lessons which have driven us to this great reform.

I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank you for your support in the candidacy of Greece as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2025-2026 term.

Moreover, I congratulate you on the substantial participation of Zambia, with military personnel, in numerous peace-keeping missions of the United Nations.

Furthermore, I must underline in the most positive way, the fact that Zambia, although a landlocked state, was one of the first countries to sign the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as UNCLOS. If all countries followed your example, we would have far fewer problems.

I would also like to thank you for your principles and positions on issues pertaining to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus.

Our bilateral relations in recent years are developing. The volume of our bilateral commerce has increased in tens of millions of euros and we can achieve much more.

Furthermore, there is a Greek community in Zambia which, along with the Greek-Orthodox Church, functions as a bridge of communication between Zambia and Greece.

We monitor with great interest the reform agenda implemented by the President of Zambia and we are ready to applaud because of the progress achieved in significant fields, like the rule of law, the fighting of corruption, human rights and – I stress it – the abolition of the death penalty.

Finally, I would like to welcome the significant cooperation between Zambia and the EU and Zambia’s alignment with the positions of the EU in various international and regional issues.

Minister, I warmly thank you once more. I will take advantage of this working lunch to be briefed by you on various issues of Africa. It is known that Greece is present via councillors, in the framework of the EU, in your neighbouring Mozambique. I would like to be informed on the situation there. And generally, I want to comprehend how we can, with our small forces, help the development and the stability of the significant African Continent and how we can develop our bilateral relations even further.

I warmly thank you for your presence here”.

The official visit of the Defence Minister of Zambia will continue with the conduct of visits in military academies in Athens and Thessaloniki.