In his meeting with the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) board of directors, Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Chountis described the foreign parliamentarians of Greek origin as Greece’s most valuable messengers, who aid in the country’s efforts for friendly relations with all countries across the world. Chountis recognized the significant contribution of foreign parliamentarians of Greek origin due to their understanding of Greek matters. He also noted that they are a necessary part of Greece’s multidimensional foreign policy, benefiting from the fact the Hellenism has spread across the globe over the years. He made particular reference to WHIA members who help the Greek people emerge from the economic crisis and help in the country’s development and promotion of national matters. At the same time, he made it clear that the Greek state will help address any problems faced by the Greek Diaspora on a global level. On his part, WHIA president Ioannis Pantazopoulos stressed WHIA’s support toward the Greek state’s efforts and pledged that the association members will play an important role in favor of Greece in the countries where they were elected. Furthermore, he brought up the example of Greek-American officials’ letter to U.S. President Barack Obama. “We are allies of our country,” he said, adding: “We may live abroad, elected by non-Greeks, but many people love Greece. We have many friends abroad and the image of Greece abroad is always a good one.” WHIA is a non-partisan political association that was founded in August 1996 by a Greek government initiative. WHIA aims at helping parliamentarians of Greek descent, who are members of legislatures in countries where Greek is not an official language, work together, exchange views on issues of mutual interest and help build strong and friendly relations between the Greek Parliament and parliaments in their respective countries.
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