Rapprochement with Turkey has reduced illegal migration flows, Mitsotakis says
The policy of rapprochement with Turkey had helped decrease illegal migration flows, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said from Lesvos.
“Greece is one of the few countries, if not the only one, which has effectively handled the problem of refugee flows with tangible results, with a significant reduction of flows, through the exceptional work done by our coast guard but also through cooperation with Turkish authorities,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the improvement in relations with Turkey had measurable results in daily life.
“The reduction, therefore, of migration flows, of illegal migration, the increase in legal visits that are the flip side of this coin, are hands-on proof that this policy of rapprochement between Greece and Turkey has real results that bring a substantial economic ‘dividend’ of growth for Lesvos and all the islands of the Eastern Aegean,” Mitsotakis added.
Referring to the fast-track visa program for Turkish tourists to the island and others, the prime minister said that this granted a long-standing request of the regional authorities that was not simple to accomplish.
“What you see today … required a great deal of work by the Migration Policy minister and his team in order to convince the European Commission that we are ready to meet the high-level requirements of the Schengen [Agreement]. So we are able to issue a visa essentially within minutes,” Mitsotakis said.
He was speaking at a ceremony for the delivery of a new, 46.7-kilometer road from Kalloni to Sigri on the eastern Aegean island, which he said would reduce journey times by 40 minutes and also help in meeting the national goal to halve fatal road accidents by 2030. [AMNA]
