Completing his meetings in Chicago on Thursday evening, Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos traveled to Boston to continue his contacts with representatives of the Greek American community and local society in one of the economically strongest states in the U.S.
He started his program of meetings on Friday morning, with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a friend of Greece who is always close to the Greek American community. He briefed the governor on developments in Europe and the major changes taking place in Greece within the framework of efforts to confront the crisis. Their discussion focused in particular on the great potential for cooperation in sectors such as trade, investments and tourism. They also looked at the prospects for strengthening exchanges and collaboration in the education sector.
The Foreign Minister then met with the Federation of Greek American Associations of New England, at the Greek Consulate General in Boston. Some 250,000 Greek Americans reside in this Consulate General’s area of responsibility and have distinguished themselves in the business, commerce and scientific sectors. Mr. Avramopoulos had extensive talks with the presidents of the Greek organizations, briefing them on Greek government efforts that are gradually creating the condition’s for Greece’s emergence from the crisis. He heard the thoughts of Greek American community and discussed the institutional changes being promoted for the SAE, with the aim of empowering global Hellenism and revitalizing its ties with the homeland.
Mr. Avramopoulos also briefed the representatives of the Greek communities on the course of Greece’s national issues, assuring them that, despite the crisis, the hard core of our country’s interests in the diplomatic sector have not been compromised. They also discussed the efforts being made to rehabilitate Greece’s image, which is a necessary prerequisite for establishing a climate of stability that will allow for revitalization of the economy, attraction of investments and the creation of jobs. They also looked at ways in which the Greek community abroad can contribute to this effort.
In the afternoon, Mr. Avramopoulos was the keynote speaker at a special meeting hosted by the American Jewish Committee, which was also attended by Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. Referring to the close cooperation between the Greek and Jewish diasporas, which complements the very close cooperation between Greece, the U.S. and Israel, he briefed the members of the organization on the major issues in Greek foreign policy, pointing up the country’s stabilizing role in the sensitive Eastern Mediterranean region. He replied to questions from AJC officials on the economic situation, current investment and business opportunities in Greece, and major developments in the region of the Middle East and North Africa.
Winding up his contacts in Boston, Foreign Minister Avramopoulos attended a reception organized in his honor by Metropolitan Methodios and attended by prominent members of the Greek American community and local society. The Metropolis of Boston, under Metropolitan Methodios’s guidance, plays a key role in consolidating the Greek American presence in the region and maintains excellent relations with other faiths, building bridges of cooperation with the other communities in Massachusetts. Holy Cross seminary in Brookline, one of the major institutions of Orthodoxy in the U.S., is of exceptional importance, and Mr. Avramopoulos underscored in his brief address at the event that for over 80 years, Holy Cross has provided a high level of education to its students, who staff Greek Orthodox churches in the U.S. and throughout the world.
