The central pillar of the government’s strategy is to become a Greek universities to be more open to the world and strengthen international cooperation, the Prime Minister stressed. Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaking this morning at the opening of the “Faros Summit 2022” at the Cultural Center of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation on cooperation between Greece and the United States in the field of higher education.

At the event, which was attended by representatives of all Greek universities and 30 major American universities, Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized that many of these partnerships have already been agreed, and many more will be agreed in the future, expressing his confidence that “there is a real an opportunity to strengthen academic ties between our two countries.”

Mr. Mitsotakis appreciated that there is no better place than Greece for American universities looking to expand to other parts of the world and stressed that Greece 2022 is not like Greece 2012 or 2015, stating that today our country is ” laboratory of constant change.

“Greece is not just a place where you can come and study archeology, classics, history. It is also a laboratory of constant change. This is a country that is in a very critical geopolitical position, a country where, in addition to classical studies, you can focus your research on issues such as migration, security issues, climate,” said Mr. Mitsotakis.

He emphasized that the government supports our public education system with taxpayer money, and, he added, “we have an obligation to offer our students the best possible education. And to achieve that, we need to be able to work with the best.”

Speaking about the wider region, he said that the Eastern Mediterranean is a region where climate change is strong and added that Greece is a country whose government is committed to innovative public policy solutions.

“And these decisions very often come from the academic work that you will be producing. Thus, in Greece you will find not only a very friendly country, but also a government that will be ready to develop the ideas arising from this academic collaboration. I am particularly pleased that many of these partnerships have already been announced. I was very pleased to learn yesterday that Colombia announced the establishment of an International Education Center in Greece to deal with issues such as immigration and climate change,” the Prime Minister said.

He also noted that our country is on the right track, it is a developing country, with a growing economy, a dynamic society and talented people who are constantly striving for something better.

“I am honored to be here with you today. And I do feel the excitement in the room at what is already becoming an extremely fruitful collaboration between academic institutions in the United States and Greek universities.

I have changed my schedule, postponed my departure for COP27 to be with you today to share a few simple words about how excited I am about this partnership and how committed we are to our universities opening up to the world and collaborating with the best universities in the world.

I have had the privilege of studying in the United States and have worked tirelessly with Minister Kerameos for the past three and a half years to bring Greek universities into a whole new era. The central element of our strategy was to make our universities more open to the world, to strengthen the international partnership that you are talking about today. Many of them have already been agreed upon. Much more will come together in the coming days, weeks, months, years, because I believe there is real potential to strengthen academic ties between our two countries.

I think that Minister Kerameos has very eloquently explained the reasons why now is the right time to develop this kind of cooperation. What I can tell you is that Greece has changed a lot in the last three and a half years. Many of you associated Greece with a country that was constantly in crisis. And you were right about that, as our country has really struggled in the last decade.

But I can tell you that Greece 2022 is nothing like Greece 2012 or 2015.

This is a country (i.e.) on the right track, a country that is developing, with a growing economy, a dynamic society and talented people who are constantly striving for something better. We strive to offer our pupils and students in the context of public education the best possible experience in a free public education system. To do this, we have made sure by law that universities do have the freedom they have always wanted to build exactly the kind of partnerships that you are now discussing. And I think there is no better place than Greece for American universities that want to expand to other parts of the world.

Not only because of the great weather, the quality of life – I am sure that many of you would like to spend more time in Greece, as well as your students, teachers or researchers. Not only because of the classical heritage of our country. Greece is not just a place where you can come and study archeology, classics, history. It is also a laboratory of constant change. This is a country that is in a very critical geopolitical position, a country where, in addition to classical studies, you can focus your research on issues such as migration, security issues, climate.

The Eastern Mediterranean is a region in which climate change is strong. But Greece is a country whose government is committed to introducing innovative public policy solutions. And these decisions very often stem from the academic work that you will be producing. Thus, in Greece you will find not only a very friendly country, but also a government that will be ready to develop the ideas arising from this academic collaboration. I am particularly pleased that many of these partnerships have already been announced. I was very pleased to learn yesterday that Colombia announced the establishment of an International Education Center in Greece to deal with issues such as immigration and climate change.

And I am sure that a lot of good things will come out of this cooperation. For my part, I can assure you that we will continue to be committed to promoting such a partnership between two countries with very close historical ties.

I have fond memories of the privilege of addressing the joint session of Congress last May. It was an opportunity for me to mark the common path of our two flourishing democracies, which have stood by each other through very difficult times over the past two centuries. And I believe that the cooperation that we are launching today is another step in this direction, distinguished Ambassador, Dear George, to further strengthen the ties between our two countries.

I wish you all a very productive week. I ask you to explore the breadth of talent and creativity that exists in Greek public universities. Those who travel outside of Athens will realize that there are many dynamic universities not only in the capital or Thessaloniki, but also in other regions of the country.

I encourage you to develop relationships with the leadership of our universities, with our professors, with our students. Then you will realize that, after all, our country’s greatest asset is not its geographic location, its weather, or the fact that it is a natural destination for tourism or foreign direct investment. The greatest asset of the country is its people, especially the younger generation, creative students striving for the best, worthy of the best.

We support our public education system with taxpayer dollars and have a duty to provide our students with the best possible education. And to achieve this, we must be able to work with the best.

Thank you very much for being here. I wish you a fruitful and productive day.”