Athens, 18 January 2024

Governing Board of World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) visits Athens

The Governing Board of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association PADEE-WHIA visited Athens.

During their visit the members of the Governing Board of PADEE-WHIA held meetings with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for issues of Greeks Abroad Giorgos Kotsiras, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus Stavros Avgoustides, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Greece Niovi Rigou, the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the former Chairman of the Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Gioulekas.

During the meetings was discussed the current state of the Greek diaspora and the initiatives and actions undertaken by the MPs of Greek origin in order to promote the national goals in areas such as the economy, investments, defence and tourism. Particular emphasis was given to the search for ways to strengthen the teaching of the Greek language abroad.

Furthermore, special reference was made to the latest developments in the region of Southeastern Europe and the Middle East, as they are shaped under the pressure of the two ongoing wars in the region and their impact on the crucial Greek issues.

At the meetings participated: Leonidas Raptakis, PADEE-WHIA President and Rhode Island Senator (USA), Effie Triantafilopoulos, 1st PADEE-WHIA Vice-President and Toronto MP (Canada), Steve Georganas, 2nd PADEE-WHIA Vice-President and Australian MP, Annie Koutrakis, Treasurer, MP of the Parliament of Quebec (Canada), Vangelis Doules, Member of the Governing Board (Albania), Nicole Klarides, Member of the Governing Board State Representative  (Connecticut USA), Stephan Pappas,  Member of the Governing Board State Representative (Wyoming USA), Hryhoriy Nemyria, Deputy Member of the Governing Board MP (Ukraine).

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