In order to foster friendly relationships between Greece and Turkey, the former has decided to offer special visas to the citizens of Turkiye.

This decision comes as a way to eliminate the years-long strained relationship between the two countries.

Consequently, the relevant authorities in Greece have revealed that they will be establishing a one-year program that will grant Turkish nationals visas on arrival.

Greece

A meeting was recently held between Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of the Republic of Turkiye, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of The Hellenic Republic.

After the meeting, the local media from the two countries reported that Greece has been devising plans for an automatic visa system for a while now.

This has been specially designed for Turkish nationals, who will be able to visit the ten Greek islands, facilitated by the special visa rules.

Soon after the meeting ended, the two governing authorities held a joint press conference to announce the good news.

PM Mitsotakis stated that his government had taken permission from the EU Commission, before it met with the Turkish president to introduce the scheme.

In his words, the relevant authorities had requested approval from the commission to activate the opportunity for nationals of Turkiye and their families.

Consequently, they would be allowed to visit the Greek islands throughout the year, facilitated by the ferry connections that they share with Turkiye.

Relationships

According to Dimitris Kairides, the Minister of Immigration from Greece, this move will allow the two countries to become closer to one another.

He further added that the measure is a great way to bring the citizens of each country closer to one another.

Where the visa is concerned, the relevant authorities in Greece revealed that it would be granted on-spot when Turkiye nationals visit the islands.

Moreover, the visa will grant easy access to Turkish nationals for a stipulated time period of seven days.

The islands that are a part of the new scheme include Lemnos, Chios, Lesvos, Leros, Samos, Kos, Kalymnos, Rhodes, Kastelorizo, and Symi.

Support

Throughout the joint press conference, PM Mitsotakis took to expressing his support for the request made by Turkiye to gain visa-free access to the member states within the Schengen Area.

He added that Greece will show constant support for the European accession process for Turkiye, which is why it developed its visa plan in the first place.

The PM encouraged the new generation of Turkish nationals, including students, businessmen, and scientists, to develop closer relationships with the rest of Europe.

The meeting between the country heads is the fifth of a number of meetings scheduled between Greece and Turkiye.

In addition, the two countries have taken to sign a declaration on Good Neighborly Relations and Friendship, which prioritizes strengthening ties.

The two have revealed that they will continue working together to benefit the people belonging to both societies.

Consequently, they hope that they will be able to boost their bilateral relations in the years to come by using existing institutional mechanisms.