Athens, 27 September 2021
H.E. the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Monday, September 27th, 2021. The Prime Minister was welcomed by the Director-General of UNESCO Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis and the Permanent Delegate of Greece to UNESCO H.E. Ambassador Maria Diamantopoulou.
The Greek Prime Minister was guided to the headquarters of the Organization and a meeting followed between the Greek delegation and the UNESCO officials where cultural issues were discussed, focused on the Greek cultural heritage.
The meeting took place in the presence of the Greek Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Director-General of UNESCO Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, the Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, the Permanent Delegate of Greece to UNESCO Ambassador Maria Diamantopoulou, the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture Mr. Ernesto Ottone and the Director of the Office of Mrs. Azoulay, Mr. Nikolas Kassianidis.
During the discussion, both Mrs. Azoulay and Mr. Mitsotakis made a separate reference to the work and the contribution of Mrs. Vardinoyannis. Mr. Mitsotakis quoted “Marianna, thank you very much for your presence. Mrs. Vardinoyannis is doing an excellent work, not only in the field of culture, but in all the fields in which she deals with”, while on her part, Mrs. Azoulay stressed: “Her work is incredible. I know that she deals with many issues but she is also absolutely devoted to UNESCO and offers a lot”.
Regarding the visit of the Greek Prime Minister to the UNESCO headquarters, Mrs. Vardinoyannis said: “Mr. Mitsotakis’ visit to the UNESCO headquarters and his meeting with Director-General Audrey Azoulay is a great honor for the UNESCO family. It is the first time that a Greek Prime Minister visits UNESCO and it is a great initiative by Mr. Mitsotakis that strengthens the position of Greece in the international cultural community”.
Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Vardinoyannis and Mrs. Azoulay visited the exhibition “Paris – Athenes, Naissance de la Grece Modern”, which was inaugurated at the Louvre Museum in the presence of H.E. the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, and H.E. the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, both escorted by their wives.
