01 July 2016 - Philippine Ambassador to Greece Nestor Z. Ochoa made a farewell call on H.E. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic on June 27. During the call, Ambassador Ochoa thanked the President for the close cooperation and support that the Greek Government has extended to the Philippine Embassy during his tenure. He also thanked the Greek Government for the close bilateral ties between the Philippines and Greece and for their support for the Philippines in the international arena.

President Pavlopoulos conveyed his sincere appreciation to Ambassador Ochoa for his support and cooperation. He likewise expressed his best wishes to Ambassador Ochoa as he departs Greece for the Philippines by the end of this month.

On June 28, Ambassador Nikolaos Garilides, Director for South and Southeast Asia, Japan & Oceania of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted a lunch in honor of Ambassador Ochoa. Also present during luncheon were the ASEAN Ambassadors in Greece, the Japanese Ambassador, the Korean Ambassador, and other officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.                                           

On behalf of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Garilides conveyed his appreciation for the active cooperation of the Philippine Embassy and the Ambassador in further strengthening Philippine-Greek diplomatic relations.

Ambassador Ochoa thanked the Greek MFA for the excellent working relations they have established. He also noted several developments that took place during his tenure such as the first ever participation of the Philippine Embassy at the Philoxenia Tourism Fair in Thessaloniki. Ambassador Ochoa also mentioned that our newest Philippine Consulate in Piraeus, headed by Philippine Honorary Consul Harry Vafias, was just recently opened to service the 50,000 Filipino seafarers on-board Greek flagged and Greek owned ships. Finally, the Philippine Embassy was able to canvass around 2,500 votes from Filipinos in Greece and Cyprus during the month-long overseas voting at the Embassy. Ambassador Ochoa thanked the Greek Government for providing the environment for the peaceful conduct of overseas elections.

Aside from the farewell call on President Pavlopoulos, Ambassador Ochoa also called on Ambassador Aglaia Balta, Chief of Protocol of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 23. END.