Press Office
Ioannina, 14 January 2024
WHIA meeting with Mayor of Ioannina in presence of President of Hellenic Parliament
The newly-elected Mayor of Ioannina, Thomas Begas met with the Governing Board of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA), in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Constantine Tassoulas and the Deputy Minister of Social Cohesion and Family and Ioannina MP, Maria Kefala, at the Ioannina City Hall.
During the meeting, the President of the Parliament praised the work of the WHIA which is decisively backed by the Hellenic Parliament. The WHIA can play a part, inter alia, in disseminating the natural and cultural beauty of Epirus abroad, and also in attracting new investments in the region. The President made reference to the government's goals to further strengthen relations with Greeks of the diaspora.
The Mayor of Ioannina, Thomas Begas, for his part stressed the importance of "city diplomacy", i.e. cooperation between local administration and foreign delegates to disseminate the cultural heritage of Ioannina and other Greek cities abroad.
Lastly, the Ioannina MP and Deputy Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Maria Kefala, briefly presented the government's strategic goals for the next four years.
All interlocutors agreed to forge a common path to promote Greek cities abroad.
The members of the WHIA Governing Board who participated in the meeting were: Leonidas Raptakis, WHIA President and Rhode Island Senator (USA), Effie Triantafilopoulos, 1st WHIA Vice-President and Toronto MP (Canada), Steve Georganas, 2nd WHIA Vice-President and Australian MP, Annie Koutrakis, MP of the Parliament of Quebec (Canada), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and a member of the parliamentary committee on Transport and Infrastucture, Stephan Pappas, Wyoming State Senator (USA) and Nikos Kouris, MP for Saranda (Albania).
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