Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos will be in the U.S. from 19 to 28 September 2012 to participate in the proceedings of the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations and hold a series of meetings in Chicago (19-20 September), Boston (20-22 September) and New York City (23-28 September).
On Sunday, 23 September, Mr. Avramopoulos will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, with whom he will have the opportunity to discuss the Cyprus issue, the issue of the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and other issues of regional and international interest.
On the same day, Mr. Avramopoulos will meet with the UN Secretary General’s special envoy Matthew Nimetz to discuss the issue of the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
On Thursday, 27 September, the Foreign Minister will address the Plenary of the 67th UN General Assembly.
Within the framework of the General Assembly proceedings, Mr. Avramopoulos will have the opportunity to participate in a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings with officials from other countries and representatives of international organizations. The scheduling of these meetings has not yet been finalized and will be announced next week. Based on the planning so far, Mr. Avramopoulos will meet with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, and Cypriot Foreign Minister E. Kozakou-Markoullis. From the region of the Western Balkans, he is to meet with the Foreign Ministers of Albanian, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In light of the developments in the Middle East, Mr. Avramopoulos will also have meetings with his counterparts from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, while he will also participate in a Ministerial Meeting being hosted by the International Peace Institute and the Foreign Ministries of the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg on the situation in the Middle East.
Given our country’s interest in the developments in the Caucasus and the major potential for cooperation with the countries of the region, Mr. Avramopoulos is to meet with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. He will also be meeting with his counterparts from Australia, Brazil, South Sudan, Panama, and other countries.
Mr. Avramopoulos will also participate in a coordinating meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers with High Representative C. Ashton, as well as the EU-U.S. political dialogue meeting. He will also attend the Transatlantic Dialogue dinner being hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Foreign Minister will also meet with OSCE Secretary General L. Zannier, participate in the SEECP and BSEC meetings, and attend a Foreign Ministers’ working luncheon – hosted by the Foreign Ministries of Spain and Morocco, and the International Peace Institute – on the subject of mediation in the Mediterranean region.
In addition to his participation in Ministerial Week and the proceedings of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Avramopoulos will have a number of meetings in Chicago, Boston and New York City.
From 19 to 20 September, Mr. Avramopoulos will be in Chicago, where he will attend a meeting of the National Greek Museum, with the participation of members of the Greek American community, American officials and figures from the business world. Mr. Avramopoulos will also participate in the 68th Annual Meeting of the AJC/Chicago, where he will deliver a speech, and a working breakfast hosted by the National Strategy Forum. In Chicago, Mr. Avramopoulos will also meet with His Eminence Iakovos the Metropolitan of Chicago and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
From 20 to 23 September, Mr. Avramopoulos will be in Boston, where he will meet with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Federation of Greek American Associations of New England. Mr. Avramopoulos will also attend a reception being hosted in his honor by His Eminence the Metropolitan of Boston Methodios.
In New York City, Mr. Avramopoulos will meet on 25 September with the heads of Greek American organizations, and on the 26th he will meet with His Eminence Demetrios Archbishop of America.
Finally, Mr. Avramopoulos will attend a luncheon with the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange and meet with the President and the Vice President of the New York Times, A. Sulzerberger and M. Golden.
September 19, 2012