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Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki

Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki

Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki

Welcome Speech

Dear compatriots, greetings!

Welcome to the official website of the Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki. Through this website, you can obtain information about ongoing developments in Georgia, various activities carried out by the Consulate, as well as news. You may also visit the links to the Consular Section, Practical Information, and Bilateral Relations, where you will find detailed information on consular service tariffs, the Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories, regulations for bringing medications into and out of Georgia, and the dynamics of bilateral relations between Georgia and Greece, along with other interesting and useful information for you.

The Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki operates in the northern region of the Hellenic Republic, encompassing the territories of Macedonia (Eastern, Western, and Central Macedonia, population: 2,487,447), Thrace (population: 371,208), and Thessaly (population: 732,762). The administrative center of the region is Thessaloniki, which has a population of    1,012,297 according to official data. In terms of administrative-territorial organization, the consular district of the Consulate General is divided into four regions:

  1. Eastern Macedonia and Thrace - Komotini (capital). The region consists of the following regional units: Drama (Drama), Evros (Alexandroupoli), Kavala (Kavala), Rhodope (Komotini), Thasos (Thasos), and Xanthi (Xanthi);
  2. Central Macedonia - Thessaloniki (capital). The region consists of the following regional units: Chalkidiki (Polygyros), Imathia (Veria), Kilkis (Kilkis), Pella (Edessa), Pieria (Katerini), Serres (Serres), and Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki);
  3. Western Macedonia - Kozani (capital). The region consists of the following regional units: Florina (Florina), Grevena (Grevena), Kastoria (Kastoria), Kozani (Kozani);
  4. Thessaly - Larissa (capital). The region consists of the following regional units: Karditsa (Karditsa), Larissa (Larissa), Magnesia (Volos), Trikala (Trikala), and the Sporades.

It is a great honor for me, and at the same time a great responsibility to represent Georgia as the Consul General in Thessaloniki. I am pleased to continue my diplomatic service in Thessaloniki, where tens of thousands of Georgian citizens reside. I would like you to know that the hard work, effort and loyalty to Georgia of each of you living in emigration deserve special appreciation. For years, Georgian emigrants living abroad have played an important role in protecting national interests and representing Georgia’s name at a distinguished level. We believe that the ties  between the state and emigrants must be further strengthened and preserved in the future, so that Georgian children born abroad are given the opportunity to fully learn the Georgian language, become familiar with Georgian culture, art, and history, and at the same time preserve their national identity, which is becoming increasingly difficult in the context of ongoing globalization.

I promise you that I, as Consul General, along with every employee of the Consulate, will spare no effort to ensure the maximum protection of the legal rights and interests of Georgian citizens and legal entities within this consular district. For this purpose, the Consulate General of Georgia in Thessaloniki, as well as all Georgian diplomatic missions abroad, operates a 24-hour emergency hotline and official Facebook page Messenger. Furthermore, the doors of the Consulate General are always open to you, and if necessary, we are always ready to meet with you in person, listen to you, offer our support, and, within the scope of our competence, promptly provide an appropriate response. We are also working to make access to consular services easier for citizens and to further improve the quality of consular services. At the same time, we believe that direct communication between the Consulate General and the Georgian diaspora is of great importance, as it is a prerequisite for the success of the common, Georgian cause.

The relations between Georgia and Greece date back to ancient times, specifically to the period of antiquity. The two countries are connected by shared values and a centuries-old friendship, in which the city of Thessaloniki occupies a special place. It is in Thessaloniki and its surrounding regions that Pontic Greeks who left Georgia in the 1990s are compactly settled, serving as a kind of bridge of friendship between the two nations. I would like to emphasize that it would be difficult to find two other nations in the world that have such long-standing and friendly relations as Georgians and Greeks. This is due not only to the spiritual, but also to the historical and political ties that have always existed between the two countries. Accordingly, our goal is to bring the dynamics of these friendly and partnership-based relations to a higher level and to introduce Greek society more closely to the ongoing processes in Georgia, Georgian culture, art, the country’s tourism potential, traditional Georgian cuisine, and more. Thessaloniki has historically been and remains one of the most important strategic centers of the Balkan region; therefore, one of the main priorities of the Consulate General is to promote the development of relations between Georgia and the Northern Greece region in the fields of trade and economy, education, science, and sports.

We believe that the website of the Consulate General will truly help you obtain the information you need and facilitate access to all necessary services.

We wish you peace, good health, prosperity, and success.

 

With respect,

 

                      Gela Japaridze

Consul General of Georgia in Thessaloniki