RIYADH: Alexis Konstantopoulos, the ambassador of Greece to Saudi Arabia, has highlighted the importance of enduring relations between the nations at the European country's national day celebration.
The Greek Embassy hosted the celebration on Tuesday to celebrate the 202nd anniversary of the Hellenic Republic.
Faisal Al-Sudairy, undersecretary of the Riyadh region, attended the event on behalf of Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar.
Konstantopoulos told Arab News: “Greece and Saudi Arabia are stronger together, and as we celebrate joys and successes, tonight we celebrate not only our national day but our vibrant, strong and strategic partnership.
“Today we are celebrating our national day, which is on March 25, but we have chosen to hold the celebration before Ramadan. Tonight we are celebrating not only our national day but also the very strong, vibrant, and strategic relationship we have with Saudi Arabia.
“We are very close partners; our leaders work very closely. We have set up a Strategic Partnership Council that is going to take our relationship to the next level.
“So tonight we are celebrating our friendship, everything we are doing together and we are going to do in the future.”
Greece and Saudi Arabia share a long common history, not only in the early ages, as two ancient civilizations, but also since the 1950s.
Constantinos Doxiadis, the famous Greek architect and urban planner, stamped his expertise on the Riyadh masterplan, while many companies from Greece contributed to the building of oil and gas resources, and shipping and marine infrastructure on the Red Sea.
Konstantopoulos added: “We work together to uphold regional peace and stability, [and] also through common military exercises alongside other allies.
“The presence of Greek forces in the Kingdom illustrates Greece’s strong commitment to stand firmly by Saudi Arabia. Our common ambition is to build strong and long-lasting strategic bilateral ties.
“Thanks to the successful visits of our prime minister to Riyadh in October 2021 and the Saudi crown prince to Athens in July 2022, the last two years have been extremely fruitful in the promotion of our bilateral cooperation.
“Our leaders decided to set up a Strategic Partnership Council which will allow for annual summits, while seven different sub-committees will be working throughout the year to explore further opportunities in government and business.”
He went on to mention the formation of the Greek-Saudi Business Council last October in Athens, while noting the Kingdom’s impressive reform program through Vision 2030.
He added that Greece, with its know-how and expertise, was eager to support Saudi Arabia in its future course.
