Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick stated the following in response to a question from the Athens-Macedonia News Agency (AMNA) on the results of the Greece-Cyprus-Israel Trilateral Diaspora Conference, which was held in Thessaloniki within the framework of the Trilateral Summit Meeting:"The 2nd Greece-Cyprus-Israel Trilateral Meeting on Diaspora Issues, which took place within the framework of the Trilateral Summit Meeting in Thessaloniki, had excellent results and clarified the three countries' scope for cooperation in such an important field of activity.First of all, it was remarkable that, during the official working luncheon that brought the Summit Meeting to a close, nearly half the time was devoted to discussion of Diaspora issues.The leaders of the three countries applauded the agreement we had reached earlier at the Trilateral Meeting with Fotis Fotiou and Natan Sharansky, that we need to invest more in young people.We have worked up a number of ideas, but we will make them more specific at the next Trilateral meeting, which will take place in Nicosia, on 20 and 21 August, within the framework of the annual Diaspora Conference held by the Republic of Cyprus.Moreover, in his press conference following the Trilateral Summit, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a major Trilateral Conference on joint actions and cooperation between the three countries, which will take place in December of this year. In fact, in all of his statements, the Prime Minister linked Diaspora affairs with the brain drain, which he not only wants to convert into brain gain, but, in the present phase, is seeking ways to capitalise on it in a way that benefits both the children who have left and Greece itself. And this can be done either through entrepreneurial activities on the part of young people or through Academic Communities.I need to stress that, with regard to all of the large package of Diaspora issues we have before us – that all three countries need to develop and implement – I collaborate regularly with Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.Once again, I really want to express my satisfaction and pleasure at the fact that Diaspora issues were on the agenda for the first time at a Summit Meeting – and very high on the agenda. Naturally, I want to thank the Cypriot Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots, Fotis Fotiou, and Natan Sharansky, a very prominent figure of the Jewish Diaspora.I note that I had an excellent bilateral meeting with Mr. Sharansky on Thursday morning, and we identified a number of the pieces of the mosaic, which we put together later, at the Trilateral meeting with Cyprus."The Deputy Foreign Minister was accompanied during his meetings with his Cypriot and Israeli counterparts by his Diplomatic Counselor, Victor Maligoudis, and the Director General of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, Michalis Kokkinos.
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