UPDATE: The minister of Macedonia and Thrace, Giorgos Orfanos has cancelled his trip to Melbourne, leaving Thessaloniki’s Mayor Yiannis Boutaris the only major dignitary to make the trip for the Sister city celebrations.
Mr Orfanos was due to arrive in Melbourne tomorrow, but Neos Kosmos was told by the Greek Consulate in Melbourne that the minister cancelled his trip without stating a reason.
Mayor Boutaris is still set to arrive on November21 accompanied by a delegation from the Municipality of Thessaloniki. Among the board will be Chairman Panagiotis Avramopoulos, as well as councillors Spyros Pegas, Efstathios Pantelidis and Michalis Konstantinidis. Mr Boutaris is set to lead a series of meetings and lectures, to promote Thessaloniki as the ideal tourist destination to Australians. The Mayor will also visit the Jewish Holocaust Museum in an effort to strengthen the ties between the Jewish communities of Thessaloniki and Melbourne.
This visit aims to accentuate the importance of the bond between the two cities, and the ties that promote cultural and economic growth. The alliance has indisputably evolved into a multidimensional Hellenic Australian platform, able to help international investment boom while Greece musters up strong trade relations overseas.
For more information visit www.thessaloniki.org.au