Below is the statement Alternate Foreign Minister Nikos Chountis made following his meeting today with the Governing Board of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association:
“I had the honor, on behalf of the Foreign Ministry, to meet with the Governing Board of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA), which counts among its members persons elected at various institutional levels on all continents, in non-Greek speaking countries. The WHIA’s activities are extensive, and I had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the organization.
At the opportunity of this meeting and given the current state of affairs being experienced by our homeland, we agreed, first, that the WHIA’s assistance will continue in increasing the understanding of Greece’s current problems in all of the countries, and in supporting the people’s efforts to exit the economic crisis and put the country on the path of growth.
The second thing we agreed on is the important contribution of WHIA members to strengthening Greece’s friendly and constructive relations with their countries of origin, because we consider this to be a vital element of the multidimensional foreign policy our country wants to follow, capitalizing on the fact that the Hellenic Diaspora is everywhere.
The third thing we talked about is fact that the Greek state, our Ministry, will be supportive in the confrontation of problems the Hellenic Diaspora is facing in various countries.
Our common pursuit is for Greeks to feel proud wherever they are; proud of our homeland’s contribution, and proud because we are contributing to the resolution of problems in every land, so that there can be an environment of stability and peace throughout the world.”
April 16, 2015