Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is visiting on a three day tour the United States of America this next week. The highlight of his visit is a meeting with President Barack Obama on Thursday.
The Greek government considers the meeting between Samaras and Obama as a vote of confidence for his Prime Ministership and a White House official told recently the Greek daily newspaper “Kathimerini” that the US government believes the Samaras government “is working very hard in challenging conditions.”
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew visited Athens on July 21 and Greece’s adjustment program is certain to be one of the main topics of conversation when Samaras and Obama meet. However, given the unrest in Turkey and in the Arab world foreign policy issues are also expected to be high on the agenda. The topic of energy policy will also form part of the discussion.
Apart from talks with President Obama and his administration, Prime Minister Samaras will also meet United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the head of the American Jewish Committee David Harris, various hedge fund managers and Greek-American businessmen. He is also scheduled to speak to the editorial boards of the “Washington Post” and “The New York Times”.
