Communauté Hellénique de Québec

Τρίτη 2 Απριλίου 2013

Avramopoulos Pushes Greek-Canada Ties



avramopoulos-1Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos met on Feb. 27 in the Canadian Senate with Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella, who highlighted the country’s close ties with Greece.
According to the Greek news agency AMNA, Kinsella also stressed that the Canadian MPs and Senators morally support their Greek colleagues “who are working hard to deal with the debt crisis in Greece.”
Avramopoulos underlined Greece’s deep appreciation to Canada, which he said had been the first country that trusted Greece during the huge economic crisis by making investments and expressed Greece’s gratitude to Canada for hosting Greek immigrants.
He said that Greece and Canada are bound with long-term ties of friendship based on mutuality, cooperation and great respect for democracy and human rights.
The Foreign Minister also called on Canadian entrepreneurs to carry out more investments in Greece expressed his pride for the Greek community in Canada. Kinsella hosted a reception at the Canadian Parliament in honor of Avramopoulos, who held discussions with several MPs and Senators as well as with members of the Greek community in Ottawa.
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Greek-Canadian Chamber and the Hellenic Chamber in Montreal. Avramopoulos was also scheduled to meet with his Canadian counterpart John Baird for talks focusing on the latest developments in Europe and the efforts to deal with the economic crisis, EU-Canada relations and the developments in Southeastern Europe and the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, AMNA reported.

Youth Mobility Agreement in Force


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images-2According to the Foreign Ministry’s announcement, the Youth Mobility Agreement between Greece and Canada came into force on Feb. 1. The Agreement was signed during Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Greece, back in May 2011, and was ratified by the Hellenic Parliament on Oct.31, 2012.
This pioneering bilateral agreement provides for simplified procedures so that young Greek and Canadian citizens, between 18 and 35 can have the opportunity to travel, reside and work in each other’s country for up to 12 months, under the condition that they satisfy one of the following three prerequisites:
(a) They are graduates of post-secondary or tertiary education institutions and want to gain work experience, with a predetermined employment contract.
(b) They are students at post-secondary or tertiary education institutions and want to do a predetermined internship.
(c) They want to travel for a long vacation with the option of working temporarily to supplement their funds.
Interested Greek citizens may as well consult the Canadian Embassy website in Athens, while Canadian citizens may consult the Greek Embassy website in Ottawa. The necessary prerequisites and related documents will also be uploaded on the websites of the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs.