Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, where the two discussed the organization's priorities and Greece's role within it.
The talks focused on the UNESCO80 reform process, an internal overhaul under way at the United Nations' cultural and scientific agency, as well as what the Greek government described as the country's strong presence within the organization.
Greek Language Day and New Heritage Listings
According to a briefing from the Maximos Mansion, Mitsotakis specifically raised the designation of February 9 as World Greek Language Day and two recent Greek additions to the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Minoan Palatial Centres, listed in 2025, and the wider area of Mount Olympus, listed in 2026 as a mixed cultural and natural property.
The briefing noted that Greece now has 21 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List and holds a strong institutional presence at UNESCO, including participation in key governing bodies.
Parthenon Marbles Raised Again
The meeting also touched on the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, which Mitsotakis described as a standing priority for Greece. The sculptures were removed from the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century and are held today at the British Museum in London; Greek governments have for decades pressed for their return.
Also taking part in the meeting were Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis, the director of the Prime Minister's Diplomatic Office, Ambassador Katerina Nasika, Greece's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Georgios Koumoutsakos, and the director of the Prime Minister's Office of International Strategic Planning and Communication, Aristotelia Peloni.
Mitsotakis Welcomes El-Enany
Opening the meeting, Mitsotakis welcomed El-Enany and said he was delighted with his election as Director-General, noting that Greece had strongly backed his candidacy from the outset. He said it mattered that El-Enany was the first Arab to lead UNESCO and a world-renowned Egyptologist whom he considered to have a strong cultural affinity with Greece.
Mitsotakis said Greece remained fully committed to the organization and praised the work carried out in recent years by Greece's Permanent Representative. He said Greece was proud that the Greek language had been formally honored by UNESCO and that the country continued to make steady progress in getting cultural sites, and Mount Olympus, added to the organization's official list. He said he looked forward to hearing El-Enany's views on how the two sides could build further on the relationship.
El-Enany Cites Long Cooperation
El-Enany thanked Mitsotakis for the warm hospitality he had received since arriving in Greece the previous morning, calling it a great honor to be in a country he said he held dear. He said UNESCO and Greece had a long-standing strategic partnership, pointing to Greece's status as a founding member, the work of its Permanent Delegation and events such as World Greek Language Day.
He said he had had the honor of being the first Director-General to officially celebrate that day, in February, and was now preparing for next year's celebration as well as the next Melina Mercouri Prize, due in November 2027.
El-Enany also listed UNESCO's footprint in Greece, citing 21 World Heritage sites, 11 elements on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, four Biosphere Reserves, 10 Geoparks and numerous Creative Cities, Associated Schools and Learning Cities. He credited UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Konstantza Sbokou with organizing an event the previous day.
A Packed First Day in Athens
El-Enany said he had been in Greece for only 24 hours but that it felt like a week, describing a packed schedule of meetings that included a lengthy audience with the President the day before, the meeting with Mitsotakis, and further meetings with government members the previous afternoon.
He said he was grateful for the long-running cooperation between UNESCO and Greece, describing the two as sharing common values, and said he hoped his visit would help strengthen that relationship further.
