The spotlight is expected to be on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his visit to Washington as a result of his meeting with President Joe Biden and his speech – the first time for a Greek leader – at a joint session of Congress.

Nevertheless, do not underestimate one of the other events that has been organized to honor the Greek Prime Minister: The one being hosted by the Greek-American community, in which, as I am informed, a necessarily limited number of Greek-American leaders from all over America will be participating.

Thus, members of our Community from all over the country will pour into Washington to welcome him and to express their support for Greece and for him.

The relief that the Community feels is palpable, because it has found an ally, it has found a prime minister for whom there is no need to apologize to anyone in Washington or the media, a prime minister with whom it can cooperate.

Also, because Greek-American relations have reached an unprecedented peak. The fact that a Greek-American has become the U.S. Ambassador to Greece contributes substantially to the further strengthening of the Community’s relations with the motherland and to the expansion of cooperation in many fields.

It is difficult for someone who has only superficial knowledge of the Greek-American community to grasp its role in American life and consequently in its politics and foreign policy, with emphasis, of course, on U.S.-Greece relations.

Those with superficial knowledge of the Greek Diaspora see only the weaknesses, which are real, of course, in its organization, so they fail to also see its influence. It is certainly not at the level of the Jewish-Americans – but that is the model that our Greek Community could aspire to adopt.

The event of the Greek-American community in honor of the Prime Minister brings to the fore another idea:
I would like to see the institutionalization of a pan-American – but why not also an international – conference twice a year, an assembly of leaders of Hellenes Abroad – I am not referring to the old SAE model – with the participation of Greeks from Greece, politicians and others.

If this becomes a reality, it would lead to a new dynamic in the relations between Greece and Hellenes abroad – and it would be a very powerful influence multiplier, extremely beneficial for the Greek-American community, communities in other countries, and the motherland.