Avramopoulos Pushes Greek-Canada Ties

Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos met on Feb. 27 in the Canadian Senate with Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella, who highlighted the country’s close ties with Greece.

According to the Greek news agency AMNA, Kinsella also stressed that the Canadian MPs and Senators morally support their Greek colleagues “who are working hard to deal with the debt crisis in Greece.”

Avramopoulos underlined Greece’s deep appreciation to Canada, which he said had been the first country that trusted Greece during the huge economic crisis by making investments and expressed Greece’s gratitude to Canada for hosting Greek immigrants.

He said that Greece and Canada are bound with long-term ties of friendship based on mutuality, cooperation and great respect for democracy and human rights.

The Foreign Minister also called on Canadian entrepreneurs to carry out more investments in Greece expressed his pride for the Greek community in Canada. Kinsella hosted a reception at the Canadian Parliament in honor of Avramopoulos, who held discussions with several MPs and Senators as well as with members of the Greek community in Ottawa.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Greek-Canadian Chamber and the Hellenic Chamber in Montreal. Avramopoulos was also scheduled to meet with his Canadian counterpart John Baird for talks focusing on the latest developments in Europe and the efforts to deal with the economic crisis, EU-Canada relations and the developments in Southeastern Europe and the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, AMNA reported.