The leaders of the Hellenic Group (or Hellenic Caucus as it is known), in the House of Representatives, officially declared the beginning of the work and this was done in Delphi Economic Forum, which took place in Washington. Chris Papas, Gus Bilirakis both as presidents, and Nicole Malliotakis and Dina Taitous as vice presidents, lead the team.
The agenda begins with interesting and essential topics, such as the cooperation framework between the USA and Greece, but also Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, regarding energy and defense, following the deeds of past legislation, as stated by the American parliamentarians.
The Hellenic Caucus was established in 2006 representing the interest of Congress on a range of diplomatic and military issues, including human rights issues. This time, the Greek team seems to be focused on the following issues:
– Turkish behavior towards Greece
– Defense and economic cooperation between Greece and Cyprus
– sustainable resolution of the Cyprus issue
– status and guarantee of rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
– energy issue in the Eastern Mediterranean
– developments in the Aegean
– strengthening ties between the US and allies (Greece and Cyprus).
Chris Pappas said: "As a proud Greek-American, I am honored to announce the opening of the Hellenic Caucus in the House of Representatives in the 118th US Congress. I am committed to working with the bipartisan leaders of our team to advance sound policy that will advance the values of Hellenism and strengthen the relationship between the United States, Greece, and Cyprus. We must work to strengthen security cooperation, strengthen economic ties and deepen energy cooperation with our democratic allies in the Eastern Mediterranean. I look forward to building on the successes from the previous Congress and continuing this work with a bipartisan strengthened Greek Caucus in the House of Representatives."
Gas Bilirakis in turn stated the following: "Greece and Cyprus have proven to be strong and steadfast allies of the United States. Their strategic location, natural resources and intellectual capital create a natural partnership to address economic, energy and counter-terrorism issues in the Middle East and Europe. With the instability that Russia has created in the region, it is more important than ever that we have reliable allies working together to advance our common interests. As we begin work at the 118th Congress, the Hellenic Group wants to build on past successes to enhance opportunities for greater cooperation between these countries. Doing so is critical for the United States as we seek to advance economic stability and national security."
Nicole Malliotaki emphasized the following: "As the daughter of a Greek immigrant, I am proud to once again be a member of the Greek Group in the House of Representatives. In the previous Congress, our Hellenic Caucus had great bipartisan success in passing policies to support our allies in the Eastern Mediterranean. I look forward to building on these successes and further strengthening the trilateral relationship between the US, Greece and Cyprus.
Dina Taitus said: “As the proud granddaughter of a Greek immigrant who came to the US via Ellis Island, my Greek heritage has always been close to my heart. When I was sworn in as a member of Congress for the first time, I put my hand on my grandfather's Greek Bible. Although I did not live in an immigrant community, my father taught me the Greek alphabet, showed me the cuisine of our culture, and instilled in me values such as philotimo that I have worked to honor in my private life and public service. I am grateful for the leadership and friendship of Co-Chair (of the Hellenic Group) Bilirakis and look forward to working with our colleagues to reunify Cyprus, strengthen the US alliance with Greece, and Cyprus to foster lasting stability in region of the Eastern Mediterranean".
For the record, a big achievement for the Greek team was the passage of the 2019 Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Act, but also the 2021 US-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act.
source https://neoskosmos.com / photo David / https://pixabay.com
