Greece’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Greeks Abroad, Ioannis Loverdos, has arrived in Melbourne, continuing his official visit to Australia and deepening ties between Greece and Victoria’s Greek Australian community – the largest outside Greece.
On Thursday, October 16, Loverdos held a cordial meeting with the Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan MP, joined by Steve Dimopoulos MP, Minister for Environment, Tourism, Sport and Major Events, and members of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Greece, including Lee Tarlamis MP and Kat Theophanous MP.
The discussions focused on the Greek Australian community’s enduring contribution to Victoria, as well as ongoing initiatives by the Greek Government to strengthen engagement with the diaspora.
Both sides expressed pride in the shared values, cultural links, and significant achievements of Greek Australians in shaping Victoria’s multicultural identity.
Loverdos was accompanied by the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, Stavros Venizelos, the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Dimitra Georgantzoglou, the Secretaries-General of the Ministry of the Interior, Athanasios Balermpas and Dimitrios Karnavos, and the Director General for Citizenship, Katerina Ouli.
Following his meeting with the Premier, Loverdos visited the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, the only institution in Australia dedicated to Hellenic history, art, and culture.
He toured the current exhibition “Rituals: Gifts for the Gods” and expressed his admiration for the quality of the displays and the museum’s cultural impact.
