This week, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis took part in a video conference with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, and other heads of state to propose the creation of “safe corridors” for travel once the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
Present at the teleconference were Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, Norwegian PM Erna Solberg, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong, the Czech Republic’s PM Andrej Babis, and Australian PM Scott Morrison.
The event, hosted by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, was an information and strategy sharing session, as well. According to the Foreign Ministery of Israel, the leaders discussed:
“…steps for returning to a safe routine in the shadow of the coronavirus and the preparations for the possibility of a second outbreak.”
In addition, they talked about courses of action, and discussed information and monitoring tools, dealing with at-risk populations and the operating of education systems. These discussions were in addition to talks about ways that would allow for the safe return of the tourism and aviation industries to activity.
The leaders are among those considered to have helped their countries manage the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. At the mini-conference, it was Greece’s Mitsotakis who put forward a proposal for further bilateral talks and the development of protocols to allow vacationers to travel internationally safely, and without putting local communities at risk.
Previously, the tourism ministers of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel had discussed strategies like creating a “safe zone” and a tourism corridor between their countries.