Former AHIF Student Trip Participant to Advise Presidential Candidate on Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON, DC — From time to time, the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) presents updates on alumni of the AHI Foundation Study Abroad program or former interns.
George Papadopoulos, a participant on the 2009 AHIF Student Foreign Policy Trip to Greece and Cyprus, has been named a foreign policy adviser to Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. In addition to AHI, Papadopoulos, an international energy consultant, has been a researcher at the Hudson Institute before joining the London Center of International Law Practice. He also advised former Presidential Candidate Dr. Ben Carson.

Papadopoulos visited the Hellenic House on April 1 and met with AHI President Nick Larigakis and Legislative Director Georgea Polizos and received an up-to-date briefing on developments in the southeast Mediterranean. “Southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean combine to form an important geopolitical region to the United States,” Papadopoulos said. “The strong, bilateral relationships that the United States has with Greece and Cyprus has only contributed to regional stability and the promotion of security and U.S. interests.”
“We are proud to see all of our Study Abroad alumni and former interns take significant steps and succeed in their respective careers,” AHI President Nick Larigakis said. “Overall, it speaks to the quality and talent of students in the Greek American community. George is our most recent example of this success story, and we wish him the best going forward.”
This meeting served to further AHI’s ongoing strategy of reaching out to all presidential candidates, on behalf of AHI’s nation-wide membership, and providing each of their campaigns with an opportunity to present their positions on issues of great importance to the Greek American community, such as: U.S. relations with Greece and Cyprus, freedom of religion for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the naming dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and U.S. interests in southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region. “We look forward to hearing back from all presidential candidates on these issues,” Larigakis said.
The Greek American community’s presence in swing states is significant, added Larigakis. “In 13 states that are considered battleground states, for example, there are 191 Greek Orthodox Churches,” he said. “Our community can make a difference.”
The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.
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For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or at [email protected]. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at http://www.ahiworld.org and follow us on Twitter @TheAHIinDC.