The president of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), Bill Papastergiadis, told Neos Kosmos that Premier Jacinta Allan asked him to deliver a personal invitation to the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis who is expected to visit Australia in 2025.
Allan told Papastergiadis that it was “important” that Melbourne, as “the third largest Greek city globally,” had representation by the Greek Prime Minister.
Papastergiadis told Neos Kosmos that the premier asked him to “deliver a personal message” and a “letter of invitation to visit our beautiful city and state”.
The GCM president told Neos Kosmos that on his recent visit to Greece, “as is customary, I met with the Prime Minister Mitsotakis at the Megaro Maximo.”
According to the GCM president, Mitsotakis said, “Bill, so good to see you again, welcome back to Greece.”
This time he was, “not only passing on the best wishes of our community,” said Papastergiadis to the Greek PM, adding, “on this occasion, the premier of Victoria also sends her best.”
“I said that ‘I have with me a personal letter from the Premier inviting you to visit Melbourne and Australia,'” Papastergiadis said.
In the hand-delivered letter, Premier Allan writes, “On behalf of the Government of Victoria, I would like to extend a warm invitation to you to visit Victoria during your upcoming trip to Australia.”
“Victoria is proud to be home to Australia’s largest Greek community,” Allan said.
“Victoria’s Greek community is a vital part of our vibrant and diverse multicultural fabric.”
She highlights the “significant contribution to our culture, economy, and society made by generations of Greek-Victorians.”
The premier points to the “strong people-to-people connections” and mentions how the government welcomed the Greek Minister for Culture, Linda Mendoni, “to launch the Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys and Connections exhibition at the Melbourne Museum in partnership with Greece’s National Archaeological Museum.”
Mitsotakis told Papastergiadis that it is one of his “priorities to visit Melbourne and Australia” and thanked “Premier Allan for this kind invitation.”
“The Greek prime minister told me that the ‘Greek Diaspora in Melbourne and throughout Australia fills us with pride.'”
“He called our Diaspora ‘our true ambassadors’ and said ‘it’s incumbent on us to support them,'” Papastergiadis said.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis emphasised that the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), known as EOT in Greek, will open an office at the Greek Community of Melbourne, and pointed to “the amendments to the law that we made to allow Greek citizens abroad to vote,” Papastergiadis said.
“‘I most definitely want to accept this kind invitation,'” said Mitsotakis to Papastergiadis.
There is no confirmed date yet for the Greek prime minister’s visit to Australia.
