South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas met with Greece’s Deputy Defence Minister Nikos Hardalias, at the State Administration Centre in Adelaide this morning.
The meeting was also attended by SA Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Tom Koutsantonis, and the Consul General of Greece in Adelaide, George Psiachas.
During the meeting, Premier Malinauskas welcomed Mr Hardalias to the state and reiterated the strong ties between Australia and Greece.
“It was a pleasure to meet the Deputy Minister for National Defence of Greece, Mr Nikolaos Chardalias and his delegation,” the SA Premier told The Greek Herald.
“The Greek contribution to this state is one of special significance and I was proud to convey the importance of the community to the Minister.”
This meeting comes after the Greek Deputy Defence Minister visited Melbourne and Canberra over the last few days and held a series of meetings with officials and community leaders.
During his visit to Adelaide, which concludes on October 29, Mr Hardalias will attend various events to commemorate the anniversary of OXI Day. This includes the unveiling of a memorial at St George Greek Orthodox Church in Thebarton on Friday, and a wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial along with members of the Hellenic Presidential Guard on Saturday.
“We are very excited to have the Hellenic Presidential Guard here in Adelaide for the commemoration of Oxi Day,” Premier Malinauskas said.
These events are being hosted by the Foundation for Hellenic Studies, with the support of the SA Government.
READ MORE: Program released for the Evzones’ first-ever visit to Perth for OXI Day commemorations.