The White House hosted its first reception for Greek Independence Day since 2019, due to a two-year hiatus related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year marked the first celebration hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who were joined by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and First Lady Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that today our friendship and partnership and our alliance is closer and stronger than it has ever been,” President Biden said during his remarks. “We had a great conversation, and the dangerous part for you all is we like one another a lot.”
“The United States and the world owe a debt to the ancient Greek ideas that first taught us that ‘we the people’ and the ‘demos,’ our democracy, can control our own destiny. And you made us believe it. And the idea that has endured for a millennia. But it’s also an idea that every generation has had to fight to uphold,” Biden said.
Mitsotakis later followed with his own remarks.
“Mr. President, I really mean it when I say that the relationship between Greece and the United States is today at an all-time high,” the Greek prime minister said.
“As you know, Greece has come through severe adversity. The recent economic crisis was extremely painful for our people. But Greeks have proven their resilience. Democracy in Greece has proven its resilience. And today, Greece bears no comparison to the Greece that became the poster boy of European financial crisis a decade ago,” Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis mentioned how many American companies such as Microsoft and Pfizer have begun investing in Greece for the first time
“They’re doing so because they see a country that has an advantageous geographic position, that is both a member of NATO and the European Union, a country with a stable government that is welcoming foreign investors,” he said.
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