Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ address at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ event organised on the occasion of Greece’s hosting of the 'Our Ocean Conference” in 2024[...]

Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon,

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors,

Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps,

My dear colleagues and fellow Ministers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you to this evening's event.

Of course, I begin by welcoming my counterpart from the friendly country of Gabon. This is the first visit to our country by a Gabonese Foreign Minister. We are therefore particularly pleased for his presence here today.

He is, in fact, a Minister from a country whose contribution to environmental, forest, and biodiversity protection is extremely important.

It is a country having a huge coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, the largest percentage in the world of land covered by forests, the world's largest population of forest elephants, and much, much more.

Returning to the main topic of our meeting today, I'd like to say that we are honoured to host the 2024 Our Ocean Conference.

It is an initiative first launched in 2014 by the then US Secretary of State and now the US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, Mr. John Kerry.

You just heard him explaining the rationale behind this endeavor.
It is an effort that seeks to protect the heart of the ecosystem that sustains us all: the sea, and the ocean.

In his message, John Kerry quoted Achilles' words in the Iliad, if you recall, which he said while walking by the sea after Patroclus' death, "The Ocean is the source of everything."

And that's right. In Greek mythology, Oceanus (Ocean) was a Titan, the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), sometimes identified as the begetter of the gods or as the begetter of all things, of everything.

Regardless of Greek Mythology though, one thing is undeniably true: the importance of the sea, the importance of the oceans to the human race.

The fact alone that the word "ocean" is a Greek word defines our obligation, as Greeks, to contribute to this effort.

The element of water has been interwoven with our journey through centuries, through the millennia.

We have a coastline of almost 21,000 kilometers, a little less than the entire coastline of the great continent of Africa, my dear colleague.

And our connection with the element of water may well be traced back in history.
Today, we, a small country on the edge of the European continent, have the largest commercial fleet in the world. The Greek-owned fleet is by far the largest on the planet.

And, of course, we are making a great effort to raise awareness about the need for marine protection.

Βesides, Prime Minister Mitsotakis' engagement in environmental protection and the fight against climate change demonstrates what I just told you: how the government of the Hellenic Republic is trying and embracing the challenge.

In close cooperation with other governmental actors in our country, and around the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing ideas and taking initiatives, firstly to ensure navigation and maritime safety. Greece is making a substantial contribution to the fight against piracy. Our guest is well aware of the piracy problem in the Gulf of Guinea.

Secondly, it takes initiatives to protect the environment and tackle climate change. The rising of the sea level itself threatens a significant part of the planet: the island clusters in the Indian Ocean, in the Pacific, all the coastal and island countries, such as Bangladesh, but also countries such as the Netherlands, Canada, and of course we, Greece, with our insularity.

Last September I had the opportunity to discuss all this in-depth with the President of the United Nations General Assembly, who also happens to serve as the Foreign Minister of the Maldives. And very recently, with my counterparts from Senegal, Cape Verde, and, of course, Gabon.

I'd like to add that we in Greece perceive the sea as a source of energy, clean energy, something that goes hand in hand with environmental protection.

On my way back from Great Britain a day ago, I noticed the wind farms in the English Channel. They do not harm the environment.

But to achieve all this, we need an internationally binding framework. And I'd like to say that a very large part of that framework already exists. It's been there for several decades. And I am referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UNCLOS that we are all aware of.

Greece and Gabon are both parties to the UNCLOS and of course, the European Union has signed it as well and it is part of the European acquis.

The UNCLOS sets out the rules by which coastal states define the areas where they have rights, but more importantly, they also define the areas where they have obligations. And UNCLOS contains specific provisions for the protection of the marine environment on the high seas, which is a shared good for all of us, for all people.

And of course, I will reiterate something that we Greeks say all the time: it is essential for all states to observe the binding nature of the UNCLOS since it constitutes customary law, which is binding on all states throughout the world, even if you have not yet signed it.

In regard to the European Union, I am particularly pleased that the European Commissioner, with whom I have also worked, in his message today conveyed his joy with Greece's hosting of the 2024 Ocean Conference.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A prerequisite for achieving the goals of protecting the seas, oceans, and the environment, is now the contribution of us all, each and every one of us individually, governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations.

And I welcome the presence of non-governmental organizations involved in environmental protection at our event today.

As Mr. Kerry rightly said, it is time to act together to save what has been the bloodstream of our planet that is our seas, our oceans, and ultimately for us Greeks, our way of life for centuries now.

Thank you very much.

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