Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis’ address at the presentation of the project “Digitization of the Diplomatic and Historical Archive of the Ministry of Foreign[...]

Today marks a particularly important moment for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as for the country. Every effort to collect, organize, and classify material relating to critical moments in Greek history - material that, in essence, reflects our country's course through time - is of great significance, especially when it concerns Greek diplomacy.

Over time, Greek diplomacy has demonstrated remarkable achievements. At the same time, it has borne a distinct historical weight in shaping not only the present-day territory of Greece, but also the country's position in the world.

For this reason, the digitization of more than 31 million pages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' valuable archival material represents a major step forward in terms of transparency. Accountability throughout history must be grounded in evidence, and such evidence must be objective. Everyone is entitled to their own perspective, historians, researchers, scholars and policymakers alike. On the other hand, objective evidence that constitutes our history should form the basis for any assessment and accountability.

It is important that the digitized documents, which considerably facilitate access and research, will be made available to the research community for use and evaluation, subject, of course, to the classification status of certain documents.

The digitization of the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is important for an additional reason as it constitutes a basis for policy formulation in the future. Historical memory is what ultimately forms the conditions for a successful future. No one has built successfully without building upon the past, not only upon its great moments, but above all upon its failures. For it is through the assessment of every failure that we can avoid them in the future. In this sense, the digitization of the Ministry's archival material also constitutes the pathway through which we can ensure even greater and more significant achievements for the Greek diplomatic history.

It is no coincidence that efforts to organize the diplomatic archives date back decades - indeed, even to the period preceding the establishment of the Greek State - from 1822 and the Supreme Secretary of State, through the early Greek revolutionary Constitutions, to Eleftherios Venizelos and the establishment of the Archives Service, to this day and the established Diplomatic and Historical Archive Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is the first phase of a broader effort. It began more than a decade ago, with the digitization of approximately four million pages funded through the NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework). Today we are pleased to implement a new phase, involving the digitization of 31 million pages through resources from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, under Greece's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. I would especially like to thank Director Yiorgos Polydorakis, as well as all the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who worked methodically and with dedication to bring this invaluable archive to the spotlight under particularly challenging conditions. Given that this archival material spans decades and even centuries, it is highly sensitive and requires specialized techniques to ensure its careful preservation and digitization, without causing it any damage.

I would also like to thank Information Society S.A., the Ministry of Digital Governance, and the contractors for their contribution. This effort will continue. Today, an even greater part of Greece's historical memory - of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' historical memory - is being made available to the Greek people. The days, years, decades, and centuries ahead will undoubtedly be brighter for Greece since we now possess the ability to study our history. History leads the way towards our future.

Thank you very much.

April 20, 2026