Greece sends FM to Vietnam and Cambodia seeking alliances in SE Asia

Athens is looking for alternative,”out of the box,” diplomatic destinations with the aim of forging new alliances and partnerships, in light of the country’s bid for a position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2025-26.

In this context, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, will be in Vietnam on Monday and will meet with President of Vietnam, Ngyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, while he will hold talks with the Vietnamese his counterpart, Bui Thanh Son.

International Law and the Law of the Sea on the agenda

The talks between the two Foreign Ministers are expected to cover mainly the prospects of strengthening bilateral relations in a wide range of sectors (economy, shipping and tourism), EU – Vietnam relations, the two countries’ joint commitment to International Law, including the Law of the Sea, as well as international developments.

During the visit, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Diplomatic Academies of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries is also planned.

Support to the National Olympic Committee of Vietnam

In a special ceremony, financial aid from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also be handed over to the National Olympic Committee of Vietnam. The aid will be delivered to the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, Hoang Dao Cuong, with whom the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also have a meeting on bilateral cooperation.

During his stay in Hanoi, the Foreign Minister will lay a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs to Hanoi follows the visit of the Vice President of Vietnam, Vo Thi Anh Xuan, to Athens in 2021 and the visit of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, to Hanoi last May.

On to Cambodia

From Hanoi, Dendias will be going to Cambodia until Wednesday, where he will participate in the work of the 55th Session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations “ASEAN”.

On August 3, the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) will be signed.

It is worth noting that, in the context of the same ceremony, representatives of Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Netherlands and Oman are also expected to sign the TAC Admission Corpus.

Meetings on the sidelines of ASEAN

On the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is expected to have meetings with some of his counterparts from ASEAN member states. In particular, with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Don Pramudwinai, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, and Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn.

In addition, on Wednesday, he is expected to meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and the Foreign Ministers of India and the Philippines, S. Jaishankar and Enrique Manalo respectively.