Letter from the Greek Communities of Australia to the Greek Foreign Minister regarding the merger of the GSGA with the General Secretariat for Public Diplomacy, Consular and Religious Affairs

A letter to the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, in order not to merge the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad (GSGA) with the General Secretariat of Public Diplomacy, Consular and Religious Affairs, was sent by the three largest Greek Communities in Australia.

Οι προέδροι των μεγαλύτερων Ελληνικών Ορθόδοξων Κοινοτήτων της Αυστραλίας κ.κ. Βασίλης Γκόνης, Βασίλης Παπαστεργιάδης και Χάρης Δανάλης Source: SBS Greek

The Greek Communities of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia have sent the position on their plans of Greek state to merge the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad with the General Secretariat of Public Diplomacy, Consular and Religious Affairs.

The three largest Greek Communities in the country demanded that the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad to remain autonomous, saying that it is the most recognisable service of the Greek state in the Greek Diaspora.

According to the letter signed by the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria Bill Papastergiadis, the President of the Greek Orthodox Community NSW Harry Danalis and the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia, Vasilis Gonis "The autonomy of the Secretariat is unmediated, substantial, productive, effective and has offered multiple benefits for both Greece and the Hellenism of the Diaspora."