AHI Executive Director Participates In Athens "Celebration Of The U.S.-Greek Relationship" And Antenna TV Interview

From 10-13 October, 2000 the U.S. Embassy in Athens in association with AHEPA hosted a series of events under the title "Celebration of the U.S.-Greek Relationship." At the invitation of U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns, AHI Executive Director Nick Larigakis participated in the events.

Events in Athens included: a joint press conference featuring Ambassador Burns and AHEPA Supreme President Johnny Economy; briefings from Ambassador Burns and Embassy staff; reception with Mayor Avramopoulos; AHEPA reception at the Grande Bretagne Hotel; rededication of the Philhellenes Obelisk and "Plant Your Roots in Greece" tree planting ceremony. The highlight of the celebration was the unveiling of the statue of George C Marshall followed by an Embassy Reception. Mr. Larigakis also took part in a VIP breakfast and dinner for with Ambassador Burns.

Following these events, a conference was held to discuss issues pertaining to the future of U.S.-Greek relations.

On October 19, 2000 Mr. Larigakis took part in a round table discussion at Antenna TV. Entitled "Hellenes on Capitol Hill" this was part of a series profiling Greek American candidates for federal office in the forthcoming election. The discussion focused on the importance of the Greek American vote and the significance of the community's political involvement, the current status of Greek and Cypriot issues, the contributions of Greek American elected officials and the possible effect of the presidential election on foreign policy issues of special interest to the Greek American community. The discussion gave Mr. Larigakis the opportunity to highlight the vital role played by the Greek American community in the political life of the U.S.

The program was moderated by Mr. Tom Ellis, Antenna Washington Bureau Chief and Ms Alexandra Spyridaki, News Director. The program will air in the evening of Sunday 5 November on the Antenna cable channel.