NEW YORK – The Greek Ambassador to the United States Alexandra Papadopoulou and Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras visited the offices of The National Herald/Ethnikos Kirikas in Long Island City on February 25.

The two officials met and spoke with EK publisher Eraklis Diamataris, and Advisor to the Publisher Antonis H. Diamataris.

Papadopoulou, the former chief diplomatic adviser to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is the first woman to represent Greece in Washington.

While in New York, Papadopoulou also visited the Consulate General of Greece for a meeting with members of the Greek media and also met with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
“It’s like coming home, I’ve lived in America for many years. In New York, five years, in Philadelphia… Thinking about the past, all that you have experienced and the way forward, and then thinking about the future, this is also the essence of our work and what can be best for Greece. And when I say Greece, I mean both Greece as a state and Hellenism as a nation,” Papadopoulou said at the meeting.

Referring to Greek diplomats and diplomacy, she noted that “we are always in favor of the principle of an extrovert Greek policy. After all, this is the direction of the government. Greece is an extrovert country, its policy is extrovert and we want to be open mainly to the Greek community, which is the most vibrant part of Hellenism, but also extroverted in American society.

“We need to show exactly what Greece is and Greece is something very big, very broad and Western culture is based on it. This is a positive burden but also a burden we all have. The Greek ambassador has the even greater duty to coordinate and present the face of this Greece.”

Papadopoulou was also expected to attend a reception in her honor at the Consulate General on Wednesday afternoon to meet with the leadership of the Diaspora, including Greek businessmen and representatives of the professional associations.

She also referred to Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias’ visit to a conference in Washington in the following days, where she will present Greece’s positions on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.