Visit of the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Hellenic Republic
From March 7 to 13, 2007, the Speaker of the House of Commons led a parliamentary delegation composed of the Honourable Bill Blaikie, P.C., M.P., Ms. Diane Ablonczy, M.P., Mr. John Cannis, M.P., Mr. Dean Allison, M.P., Mr. Patrick J. Kennedy, Chief of Staff of the Speaker and Mr. Jean-François Pagé, Secretary to the delegation. The visit was in reply to an official invitation from the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Her Excellency Anna Psarouda-Benaki.
While in the Hellenic Republic, the delegation met with:
- Her Excellency Anna Psarouda-Benaki, President of the Hellenic Parliament;
- His Excellency Karolos Papoulias, President of the Hellenic Republic;
- His Excellency Kostas Karamanlis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic;
- Mr. Georgios Papandreou, President of the Panhellenic Socialist Party;
- Mr. Fotis Kouvelis, President of the Coalition of the Left and Progress;
- Mrs. Aleka Papariga, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Greece;
- Mr. Konstantinos Katsigiannis, President of the Canadian Hellenic Chamber of Commerce;
- Mr. Vassilios Sotiropoulos, Prefect of Argolis; and
- Mr. Serafim Tsokas, General Secretary for the Region of Crete.
The delegation's objectives for the visit were to:
- renew and strengthen the ties between Canada and Greece;
- point out and emphasize Canada's various interests while continuing to maintain good relations in all areas of mutual interest; and
- discuss Canada's and Greece's foreign policy with respect to matters of international interest, trade and education between the two countries.