AHI President Joins American Jewish Leaders on Cyprus Visit

Also visits Athens, Greece for series of meetings

WASHINGTON, DC — American Hellenic Institute (AHI) President Nick Larigakis attended events held on occasion of the 2017 Mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations visit to Nicosia, Cyprus, February 22, 2017.  

At the invitation of the Conference of Presidents, and together with the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), AHI President Larigakis attended a series of meetings during the one-day visit with: President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis, Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides, and Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis, who is the Greek Cypriot negotiator for the Cyprus issue, and Fotis Fotiou, presidential commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots, who coordinated the visit and hosted a luncheon.  U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus Kathleen Doherty also attended events.

“On behalf of AHI, I thank the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations for the invitation to join its Mission, comprised of 85 representatives, for a truly important series of meetings,” Larigakis said. “It was an honor to participate. The mission helped to underscore the continuing importance of the Israel, Greece, Cyprus trilateral relationship and the critical role these countries play to advance peace, stability and U.S. interests in the region. It also reaffirmed the cooperation among diaspora organizations in the U.S. for the trilateral relationship.”

Athens Visit

President Larigakis also bookended his visit to Cyprus with a visit to Athens, Greece, February 20 and February 23 and 24.  In Athens, he met with: U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, Evangelos Kalpadakis, diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras; Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, chief, Hellenic National Defense General Staff; Lt. Gen. Christos Christodoulou, chief, Hellenic Air Force; Lt. Gen. Alkiviadis Stefanis, chief, Hellenic Army (over lunch); Honorable George Patoulis, mayor of Maroussi; Ambassador Dimitris Alexandrakis, director, A7 Department for North America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Konstantine Michalos, president, Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

In addition, President Larigakis attended a lunch and commemoration of the friendship between the United States and the Hellenic Republic organized by the Port of Piraeus at the Propeller Club, February 23. The event took place on board the Liberty Ship Museum SS Hellas Liberty.  Also in attendance were U.S. Ambassador Pyatt, Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis, Minister of Defense Panos Kammenos, and Admiral Apostolakis.

On February 20, President Larigakis was invited to provide a greeting at a dinner hosted by the Rotary Club of Maroussi.

Larigakis’ itinerary concluded with a meeting at the Olympiacos FC training facility with Domenicos Masoulas, director, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Pavlou George, CEO Thrylos S.A., Olympiacos Football Academy.  

The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

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For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org.

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The American Hellenic Institute Foundation, Inc., (AHIF), established in 1975, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit tax-exempt educational and research organization and is the first “think tank” devoted exclusively to the study of the issues confronting the Greek American community.

For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org and follow us on Twitter @TheAHIinDC.