The AHEPAN - Winter 2016 - 8


AHEPA FAMILY NEWS

AHEPA Lauds President Obama's Visit to Greece
AHEPA issued the following statement
on President Barack Obama's visit to
Greece, November 15 and 16, 2016:
"AHEPA lauds the visit of President
Barack Obama to Greece as it demonstrated a heightened level of commitment the United States has with its
alliance with the Hellenic Republic,
a longstanding NATO ally and EU
nation," Supreme President Andrew
C. Zachariades said. "At every opportunity, the president delivered remarks
that we found to be strongly supportive
of Greece and its people for what they
have endured during two unprecedented crises. Also, President Obama's
remarks demonstrated the strong ties
and shared history between the two
nations and a genuine appreciation
for Greece's myriad of contributions
to Western Civilization, and above all,
Democracy. All throughout his visit,
and the series of meetings held with
Greek government officials, President
Obama struck the proper tone on debt
relief and sustainability and economic
growth for Greece, on Greece's contributions to our mutual security interests, and the humane way in which
Greece has handled the refugee crisis.
However, President Obama did not
comment publicly on issues confronting Greece's sovereignty in the Aegean
Sea and the open questioning of the
Treaty of Lausanne, and other neighborly relations, which were raised by
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos."
Zachariades added, "In the waning
days of the Obama Administration,
and in the transition to President-elect
Trump's Administration, and going
forward, we must ensure the United

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THE AHEPAN · Winter 2016

States' high-level engagement and
commitment to Greece remains steadfast and true to resolve the challenges
Greece faces."

On the Issues
On security, AHEPA vigorously applauds
President Obama's commendation of
Greece's commitment to NATO, stating
at his joint press conference with Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras: "I want to take
this opportunity to commend Greece for
being one of the five NATO allies that
spends 2 percent of GDP on defense-a
goal that we have consistently set, but
not everybody has met. Greece has done
this even during difficult economic times.
If Greece can meet this NATO commitment, all our allies should be able to
do so."
AHEPA welcomes the president's
message on austerity and debt relief for
Greece. At the joint press conference
with Prime Minister Tsipras, President
Obama said, "At the same time, I've
been clear from the beginning of this
crisis that in order to make reforms
sustainable, the Greek economy needs
the space to return to growth and start
creating jobs again. We cannot simply
look to austerity as a strategy. And it
is incredibly important that the Greek
people see improvements in their daily
lives, so that they can carry with them
the hope that their lives will get better.
"And in this context, as Greece continues reform, the IMF has said that
debt relief is crucial. I will continue to
urge creditors to take the steps needed
to put Greece on a path towards a
durable economic recovery, because
it is in all of our interests that Greece
succeeds."

AHEPA also welcomes President
Obama acknowledgement of the
"extraordinary pain" the people of
Greece have felt at the hands of austerity and that the United States intends
"to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the

Supreme President Zachariades with
Ambassador and Mrs. Pyatt

Greek people throughout this process"
as Greece strives to achieve economic
growth. In his speech to the people of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos
Foundation Cultural Center, President
Obama said, "At the same time, I will
continue to urge creditors to take the
steps needed to put Greece on a path
towards sustained economic recovery. As Greece continues to implement
reforms, the IMF has said that debt
relief will be crucial to get Greece back
to growth. They are right. It is important because if reforms here are going to
be sustained, people need to see hope,
and they need to see progress. And the
young people who are in attendance
here today and all across the country
need to know there is a future-there is
an education and jobs that are worthy

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN - Winter 2016
