Top American foreign policy leaders meet with leading Cypriots/Hellenes at the 40th Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference

For the 40th Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference, PSEKA brought together in Washington, DC Greek American leaders from AHEPA, AHI, Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce, FCAO, the Chios Federations of America and Canada and others to hear from 35 of our country’s most significant members of Congress and Senators, as well as high level officials in the Trump Administration. It was a critical opportunity to share with these policymakers key issues of concern to the Hellenic community and to honor some of those who have been longtime supporters on our issues.

Less than one month after Michael Rigas was confirmed by the US Senate to assume the prestigious position of Deputy Secretary of State in the Trump Administration, he met with top officials of the Republic of Cyprus and with Greek American leaders from across America and abroad at the 40th Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference. In his position, Rigas serves under the Secretary of State who is the highest ranking Cabinet member and fourth in line for presidential succession.

Serious issues relating to Cyprus were addressed in the gathering where Secretary Rigas was presented the Athens/Livanos Award. This award is presented to an individual who, like Andrew Athens and George P. Livanos “has utilized ancient Hellenic values to realize extraordinary achievement in modern society while contributing to the improvement of our civilization.” Accompanying Secretary Rigas for the award presentation were other State Department officials Josh Huck, Deputy Assistant Secretary; Shane Siegel, Acting Deputy in Charge at the US Embassy in Cyprus; and Marlene Stearns, Cyprus Desk Officer.

Other Administration officials who participated in some of the Conference meetings included, John Gountanis, Deputy Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Yuri Kim, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs.

Participating in these meetings were also the Deputy Minister to Cyprus president, Irene Piki; Cyprus Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis who travelled from Cyprus to join the conference; and the Ambassadors of Cyprus and Greece, the Evangelos Savva and Ekaterina Nassika, respectively.

In addition to meeting with and honoring Secretary Rigas, the group of Hellenic leaders traveled to the US Capitol building where Republican and Democrats leading the US Congress showed their support for Cyprus and Hellenic issues. The Republican Leader of the US House of Representatives, Steve Scalise, the Democratic Leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the Democratic Leader of the House, Hakeem Jeffries spent considerable time with those attending the PSEKA conference discussing issues of importance to the Cypriot and Greek communities.

Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees also met with PSEKA Conference attendees. They included the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch (R-ID), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). Senator Coons also was presented the Paraskevaides/Mouyiaris Award as an individual who, like Nikos Mouyiaris and George Paraskevaides, “has utilized ancient Hellenic values to contribute to the nations and people of Cyprus and America and to Hellenism in the modern world.”

Conference attendees heard from the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and had the opportunity to honor the Vice Chair on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Darrell Issa (R-CA) with the Sarbanes Freedom Award which recognizes those whose efforts “have contributed to the removal of the barbed wire which has divided the nation of Cyprus for over 50 years.”

Leaders in the Cyprus community also recognized Andreas Kramvis with the Paraskevaides/Mouyiaris Award for his dedication to Cypriot issues. Kramvis served as CEO of a number of large multinational businesses in the Industrial, Electronics, Chemical and Oil Sectors. He retired from Honeywell International as Vice Chairman and is known for effecting major company turnarounds and for introducing leading edge technologies. The Andreas & Shirley Kramvis Foundation, established in 2018, supports principally Greek and Cyprus philanthropic causes on an annual basis including the Athens Foodbank, Orphanages in Greece, the Cyprus Children’s Fund, the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society and the Karaiskakion Foundation in Cyprus.

Conference attendees heard from many other members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in addition to Congressmen Meeks and Issa, including Gabe Amo (D-RI), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Julie Johnson (D-TX), Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Greek American members Dina Titus (D-NV) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY).

The PSEKA Cyprus Conference was an opportunity to honor other critical policymakers including: ● Senator Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-DE) who was presented with the James Williams Award, named for an African American from Baltimore, MD who went to Greece in 1821 to fight alongside Hellenes in the Greek War of Independence ● Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who was honored with the Frizis Award, named after Mordechai Frizis, the Jewish Greek hero who was the first high ranking Greek military officer to give his life in defense of freedom against the Axis Powers in 1940.

Two key members of the important Senate Armed Services Committee addressed the group, including the Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) and senior Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

The historic figure of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi who throughout her career supported Cyprus, Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate also attended the PSEKA Conference where she received the Sarbanes Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to her unwavering, decades-long support for Cyprus, Pelosi enabled, for the first time in history, a Prime Minister of Greece to address a joint session of the US Congress.

Other Members of the House who expressed their strong support for Cyprus and for a just Cyprus settlement include Greek American Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), as well as Congressmen Dan Goldman (D-NY), Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Robert Menendez, Jr. (D-NJ), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Jim Himes (D-CT), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY).

Another consequential member of the US State Department, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Josh Huck, was honored by the group and will soon be stationed in Athens as the second highest ranking official in the US Embassy. Huck was presented the Conalis-Kontou Award for his significant contributions behind the scenes for Cyprus-US and Greece-US bilateral relations.

Andreas Papaevripides, retiring president of POMAK, was also recognized for his contributions to addressing issues of importance to Cyprus. Philip Christopher, president of PSEKA-Justice for Cyprus Committee presented him with the Paraskevaides/Mouyiaris Award.

The Conference concluded with a stimulating panel discussion on American investment in Cyprus. Panelists included Demetrios Comodromos, president of the Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce; Andreas Kramvis; Chad Wolf, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chair of Center for Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute; and Aristos Constantine, Cyprus Trade Representative.

As in previous PSEKA Conferences the Ambassador of Cyprus Evangelos Savva hosted an evening welcoming reception for the conference attendees at his historic personal residence in Washington. The residence was once owned, during the Administration of President John F. Kennedy, by one of America’s most famous stars and close friend to the President, Frank Sinatra.

This was the 40th PSEKA Cyprus Conference in Washington, DC, sponsored by PSEKA – Justice for Cyprus Committee chaired by Philip Christopher, with support from AHEPA and Supreme President Savas Tsivicos; the American Hellenic Institute, headed by Nick Larigakis; the Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce, led by Demetrios Comodromos; the Chion Federation led by Mark Marinakis, and FCAO.