On the occasion of Mother's Day, a large group of Cubans living in Athens, along with Embassy officials, gathered at the premises of this diplomatic mission to joyfully celebrate this traditional holiday.
The event was a tender and loving tribute to all the mothers of the world, but especially to Cubans, and to the Motherland, geographically distant, but very present and deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of all.
I had the honor of hosting the monthly GRULAC meeting, which, on this occasion, included the special guest of Mr. Dimitris Skalkos, Secretary General for International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of Enterprise Greece, who was accompanied by Mr. Iakovos Iakovidis and Ms. Olympia Oikonomou, Director and Secretary of his Office, respectively.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Worship, and Sports, Konstantinos Vlasis, received the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, Aramís Fuente Hernández. The meeting, held in a cordial atmosphere, was conducive to discussing relations between the two countries in this area and their prospects. They also exchanged views on various issues of bilateral interest. The Ambassador provided information on the current situation in his country.
The Heads of Missions of GRULAC Hellas held their traditional monthly meeting in Athens, hosted on this occasion by the Ambassador of Chile, His Excellency Mr. Juan Manuel Pino Vasquez.
In addition to approving their meeting program for the coming months, the diplomats had the honor of receiving Ms. Maria Gavouneli, Director General of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), a well-known and prestigious independent, non-governmental, and non-profit think tank founded in Athens, Greece, in 1988.
As part of the celebration of Greece's National Day, the "Ark of National Remembrance" was inaugurated with a solemn ceremony on the grounds of the Ministry of National Defense in Athens.
The monument, designed by Professor Kostas Varotsos of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, is dedicated to the 121,692 heroes who fell on the battlefields between 1830 and 1974. It is a labyrinth of vertical glass columns on which their names are engraved.