WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in Washington on Tuesday, in order to participate in the NATO summit on July 9-11. At 17:00 local time on Tuesday, the prime minister is to attend the 75th anniversary celebration since the founding of NATO.

Earlier, at 12:15 local time, Mitsotakis is to have a discussion with Daniel Speckhard, Corus International president and CEO and a former ambassador to Greece, at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The items on the summit’s agenda are expected to include an increase in the Alliance’s defensive capabilities and an increase in the contributions of European member-states and Canada, as well as confirmation of support for Ukraine and NATO’s cooperation with partners such as the EU or the IndoPacific 4 (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea).

As government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis noted on Monday, Greece is among the “core of allied countries” that already exceed the requirement to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence spending. He also pointed out that the prime minister, together with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, has submitted a joint proposal for a European air defence “shield” using European financing to strengthen the European pillar of NATO.

On Wednesday evening, Mitsotakis has been invited to attend a dinner given in honour of visiting heads of state and government by U.S. President Joe Biden.

At 11:30 local time on Wednesday, shortly before the start of the NATO summit meeting, the prime minister is take part in a public debate with Nadia Schadlow, a former deputy national security advisor of the United States, at the NATO Public Forum.

After the conclusion of the NATO Summit in Washington, the prime minister is to visit New York for a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at 11:15 on Friday. This meeting will focus on Greece taking up a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2025-2026 and the Cyprus issue.

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ANA/ N. Armenis