Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis begins a five-day visit to the United States today, Monday, with stops at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest technology companies before heading to New York for the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
The trip combines a technology and investment push with a diplomatic schedule that will culminate in Mitsotakis’ address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Sept. 24. He is also due to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres and hold bilateral talks with foreign leaders while in New York.
The first leg takes Mitsotakis to San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday, where the government has put artificial intelligence and contacts with the technology sector at the center of his schedule. He will then travel to New York as nearly 130 heads of state and government gather for a UN week dominated by the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the risks posed by AI, while wider questions about the effectiveness of the international organization are still lingering. The UN’s role is itself under pressure. Reuters reported that the organization enters this year’s gathering amid financial strains and renewed debate over its ability to respond to major international crises.
Silicon Valley first
Mitsotakis’ first appointments on Monday are visits to the headquarters of Nvidia and Tesla, according to the schedule released by the prime minister’s office. Later in the day, he is due to speak at an Endeavor Greece event titled “The Future of AI Elsewhere.”
The San Francisco leg extends into Tuesday, when Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet Mayor Daniel Lurie at 8:30 a.m. local time. He will then travel to Stanford University for a closed event hosted by the Hoover Institution, with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice among the participants. The prime minister’s office said Mitsotakis will speak at the event before departing for New York.
Diplomacy takes over in New York
Mitsotakis’ New York schedule begins Wednesday, ahead of his UN address the following day. On Wednesday morning, he is expected to attend the launch of the OceanEye global alliance, an initiative co-chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The initiative is intended to improve monitoring of oceans and seas by combining satellite data with digital models, with a focus on environmental and climate information as well as the development of European technology.
Later Wednesday, Mitsotakis is scheduled to address a luncheon organized by 28 Greek diaspora organizations. Representatives of groups including AHEPA, HALC, PSEKA, AHI, HANC and HACC are expected to attend, and several members of the Greek-American community will be honored.
Mitsotakis is due to meet Guterres at UN headquarters on Thursday before addressing the General Assembly later in the day as part of the general debate of its 81st session, which runs from Sept. 22 through Sept. 28.
During his time in New York, Mitsotakis is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders, meet representatives of major American Jewish organizations and speak with international media. His schedule also includes an event on AI at Columbia University.
Investors also on the agenda
Mitsotakis’ New York schedule will also include a series of meetings focused on the Greek economy, while courting investments from international stakeholders.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to take part in a roundtable with more than 30 institutional investors with exposure to Greece and major Greek companies, as well as meetings with senior executives from international financial institutions. According to the government’s outline of the visit, discussions are expected to cover energy, defense, technology and services. Mitsotakis is expected to present the government’s case on the Greek economy, including its fiscal policy and reform program, while emphasizing its aim of raising investment as a share of gross domestic product and attracting further foreign direct investment. The government ia also briefing its plans to promote Greece as a potential base for the regional operations of international companies, including by highlighting the tax framework available to corporate executives.
Mitsotakis’ U.S. visit is scheduled to conclude Friday, Sept. 25, with a live interview on Bloomberg television.
Source: Reuters, TO BHMA
