Federal MP Steve Georganas has taken on the opportunity of a visit to Greece this week to reiterate his support for establishing a sister city relationship between Adelaide and Athens.
The sister-city proposal, spearheaded by several prominent Greek Australians including Mr Georganas, received a green light approval in May 2023 by the Adelaide City Council.
As reported by Neos Kosmos at the time, the initiation of discussions with Athens was framed around a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim to enhance economic, business, and cultural cooperation between the two cities
The proposal had been submitted by Cypriot Australian Labor Party Minister Andrea Michaels, and endorsed by two SA-BEST Senators, Greek Australian Connie Bonaros and Italian Australian Frank Pangallo.
The bid also enjoys support from the Hellenic Australia Chamber of Commerce of Industry (HACCI) South Australian chapter, as stated in a letter of support signed by HACCI SA Chair Kosta Koutsonas.
Speaking to Greek state radio ERT’s Dimitris Kontogiannis and Petros Diplas, Mr Georganas outlined the proposal that would bring closer the Greek capital with Adelaide, famously known as ‘Athens of the south’.
He referred to an estimate of 70,000 Greek migrants who chose Adelaide as their port of arrival to Australia thanks to the SA capital’s “favourable climate conditions”.
Today, Adelaide is in the top three – preceded by Melbourne and Sydney – of Australian cities with the biggest Greek population.
The governing party MP serves as Chair of the parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth overseeing all trade agreements between the EU and Australia.
During his interview on ERT radio, Mr Georganas also referred to the feta naming issue as one of the main obstacles to a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Australia.
