The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Kotsiras, is paying an important visit to the USA. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs holds meetings with expatriate bodies and promotes the cooperation of the Greek-American academic, scientific and business community with Greece.

In New York, Mr. Kotsiras participated in the 34th Annual Scholarship Dinner of the Greek Bar Association of New York. Greek-American lawyers, as he stated in his post, “are an extremely active part of our Diaspora, which contributes to the excellent relations between Greece and the USA. Granting scholarships to meritorious law students is a commendable initiative.”

The second stop of the visit of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was Philadelphia, where he was warmly welcomed by the expatriate community. Mr. Kotsiras said that “our culture and history have left an indelible mark on the city. The Greek element remains alive to this day, it functions as a bridge of friendship between Greece and the USA, preserving our values ​​and traditions.”

In Astoria, the Deputy Secretary of State attended church at the Church of Saint Demetrius, visited the school of Saint Demetrius and talked with Greek-American businessmen. Astoria’s numerous Greek restaurants and grocery stores showcase, as he said, Greek products and the Greek diet, promote trade relations between our countries and bring our peoples closer together. In a meeting with executives of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, the prospects of further strengthening the economic cooperation between Greece and the USA through the Diaspora were examined.

As the deputy minister emphasizes in his post, “Greek-Americans excel in every field. The business, investment and professional environment in Greece is constantly improving. We build communication networks of scientists and entrepreneurs of the Diaspora and encourage them to connect with Greece”.

Reinforcement of Greek seats and scientific diplomacy

Mr. Kotsiras met with journalists from the expatriate media, whom he informed about issues of Hellenism Abroad, in light of the presentation, two weeks ago, of the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Hellenism Abroad 2024-2027.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the planning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the development of scientific diplomacy and the networking of the scientific diaspora. “It is an important undertaking that requires persistence and great effort and the benefits will be enormous” said Mr. Kotsiras.

Strategic Plan for Hellenism Abroad

Regarding the Strategic Plan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that we want to send a clear message of support for the Hellenic diaspora. “More than 100 actions have been planned to promote cooperation programs with the diaspora and to support consular services to solve bureaucratic problems. The legal problems have already been overcome and a provision has been passed to facilitate the issuance of passports. I am very happy that the backbone of the actions has been formed and other similar actions can be developed on top of it. There is a road map on which we can build.”

Mr. In the coming days, Kotsiras will visit chairs and programs of Greek studies at Yale, Brown, Harvard, Boston University and MIT and will have a series of meetings with Greek-American academics, researchers and businessmen.