Visit of the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina
From September 7 to 16, 2012, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Ann Kinsella; the Honourable James Cowan, Senator, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; and the Honourable Leo Housakos, Senator. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Janelle Feldstein, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the Senate, and Ms. Marie-Eve Belzile, Secretary to the delegation.
In Greece, the delegation travelled first to Rhodes where they met with:
- Mr. Ioannis Machairidis, Regional Governor of South Aegean;
- His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes;
- Mr. Stathis Kousournas, Mayor of Rhodes; and
- Father John Luke Gregory, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Rhodes and Parish Priest of the Franciscan Fathers Monastery.
The delegation then travelled to Athens, where they met with:
- Mr. Notis Mitarakis, Deputy Minister of Development;
- Mr. Antonios Samaras, Prime Minister of Greece;
- Mr. Antonis Roupakiotis, Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights;
- Mr. Nikolas Kanellopoulos, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights;
- Mr. Constantinos Arvanitopoulos, Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports;
- Mrs. Olga Kefalogianni, Minister of Tourism;
- Mr. Costas Mousouroulis, Minister for Shipping and the Aegean Sea;
- Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- Professor David W. Rupp, Director of the Canadian Institute in Greece;
- Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Member of Parliament;
- Archbishop Nikolaos Foskolos, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens;
- His Beatitude, leronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece;
- Mr. Evangelos Meimarakis, President of the Hellenic Parliament; and
- Mr. Karolos Papoulias, President of the Hellenic Republic.
While in Athens, the delegation had the opportunity to meet with numerous stakeholders and Canadian representatives involved in various economic activities in Greece. They were able to share with the delegates the current business climate in the country. The delegation also appreciated the culture of Athens by briefly visiting the Vorres Museum, the Acropolis Museum as well as the Acropolis. The delegation also spent an evening with their host, the President of the Hellenic Parliament, at the first presentation in Greece of a Cirque du Soleil show.
In Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation met with:
- Ambassador Fletcher M. Burton, Head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Ms. Mary Ann Hennessey, Head of Office for the Council of Europe (CoE);
- Mr. Valentin Inzko, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Ms. Ulrike Hartmann, Office of the High Representative (OHR);
- Mr. Milorad Zivkovic, Speaker of the House of Representatives;
- Mr. Ognjen Tadic, Second Deputy Speaker, House of Peoples;
- His Excellency Jacob Finci, Leader of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Jewish Community and Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Switzerland;
- Mr. Vjekoslav Bevanda, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Dr. Mustafa Cerić, Reisu-l-ulema (Grand Mufti) of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Mr. Zlatko Lagumdžija, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- Major General Robert Brieger (Austria), EUFOR Commander at Camp Butmir;
- Mr. Bradley Collins and Mrs. Bethany Collins, founders of the Sports Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Mr. Martin Raguž, Senator, House of Peoples; and
- Cardinal Vinko Puljić, Archbishop of Vrhbosna-Sarajevo.
The Speaker of the Senate also participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at a monument for child victims of the Siege of Sarajevo with the Mayor of Sarajevo and the Canadian delegates.
In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the delegation met with:
- Mr. Ljubo Bešlić, Mayor of Mostar;
- Mr. Murat Ćorić, Speaker of the Municipal Council;
- Mr. Grigorije of Zahumlje-Herzegovina, Bishop for the Serbian Orthodox Church; and
- Mr. Božo Ljubić, First Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives.
The purpose of the visit was to promote future parliamentary exchanges and the establishment of a permanent parliamentary dialogue. In Greece, the delegation promoted student exchanges between our two countries and encouraged partnerships in areas such as marine shipments and agricultural output. The visit meant also to show our support to the Greek people in these difficult times. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the visit provided the opportunity to better understand the challenges faced by the country and its needs in terms of assistance and development of trade partnerships. Different aspects of agriculture and forestry were discussed as well as educational exchanges.