Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni had meetings with the ambassadors of Iraq and Slovakia, the tourism ministry announced on Tuesday, ANA reports.
Kefalogianni received the Iraqi ambassador in Athens Mouayed Saleh on Monday, who expressed a desire for closer cooperation with Greece to boost tourist flows and exchange knowhow, inviting the minister to visit Baghdad.
Kefalogianni accepted the invitation, saying the visit will be arranged at the appropriate time, while underlining Greece’s goals to promote new destinations within the country and extend the tourist season, within the framework of sustainable tourism development. The two sides also agreed on the need to update the existing framework of bilateral agreements, which dates back to 1981, with the signature of a new Memorandum of Understanding to enhance bilateral cooperation, and collaboration in the private sector and to address gaps, such as the lack of a direct air connection between Athens and Baghdad.
The minister then received Slovakian Ambassador to Greece Marcela Hanusova, discussing the further development of bilateral relations in tourism on the basis of a memorandum of cooperation inked in 2021. Kefalogianni also expressed her horror at the attempted murder of Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, and her wishes for his speedy recovery.
Hanusova, on her part, thanked Greece for the prompt and safe evacuation of Slovakian tourists from the island of Rhodes during the destructive wildfires of 2023, underlining that Greece ranked second among the preferred destinations of Slovakians. She also welcomed the introduction of a twice-weekly direct flight from Athens to Bratislava by Aegean Air, saying that Slovakia’s government wants the country to become better known to Greeks as a destination.
She extended an invitation to Kefalogianni to visit Slovakia, on behalf of the minister’s Slovakian counterpart, which Kefalogianni accepted.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: ΟΛΓΑ ΚΕΦΑΛΟΓΙΑΝΝΗ
