ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to the United States unfolded along three distinct tracks: technology and investment, engagement with the Greek-American community, and foreign policy. The trip began in San Francisco and culminated in New York with his participation in the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
In California, the focus was on technology, artificial intelligence and strengthening Greece’s ties with the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Mitsotakis visited the headquarters of Nvidia and Tesla, where he met with senior executives, including Greeks working in key positions. At Tesla, he was given a tour, among others, by Konstantinos Laskaris, vice president and head of the company’s Optimus humanoid robotics program. At Nvidia, discussions focused on investment in digital and computing infrastructure and on opportunities to harness artificial intelligence.
His presence in San Francisco also had a strong Greek-American dimension. At an Endeavor Greece event with Greek and Greek-American founders of technology companies, the Prime Minister spoke about “brain gain,” scholarships and the need to build bridges between Greeks working abroad and the Greek economy. He also raised the possibility of returning to Greece or working remotely from the country, while leaving open the prospect of pursuing a direct San Francisco-Athens air connection.
From California, Mitsotakis traveled to New York, where the Greek-American community once again took center stage. At a luncheon with Greek-American organizations, he spoke about the 2027 elections, emphasizing that his government would once again seek the voters’ trust, while also addressing the economy, strengthening the armed forces and Greece’s international standing. He also reiterated the importance of the participation of Greeks abroad in the country’s political life.
A series of economic meetings also took place in New York. The Prime Minister met with institutional investors and executives from major financial organizations, with discussions focusing, according to official announcements, on fiscal policy, the trajectory of public debt, investment prospects and the energy sector.
Energy was also a recurring theme throughout Mitsotakis’ engagements. In his meetings with the Greek-American community, he referred to Exxon’s launch of exploration activities, while in his UN address he presented Greece as an energy link in the Eastern Mediterranean and as a country seeking to strengthen its role in the region’s energy security.
The high point of the visit was his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly. On Greek-Turkish relations, he adopted a measured tone while reiterating Greece’s established positions: dialogue based on international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but not under the threat of a casus belli. His position combined the pursuit of open channels with Turkey with a clear restatement of Greece’s positions on maritime zones.
In the same context, Mitsotakis addressed the Cyprus issue, the Middle East and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. He had met earlier with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and also held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on strategic cooperation, defense, energy and the prospect of a new trilateral summit involving Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
Overall, the visit unfolded on two parallel levels. On the one hand, the government sought to promote Greece as a destination for investment, technology and human capital, making particular use of the Greek network in the United States. On the other, in New York, it brought Greece’s positions on Turkey, Cyprus, energy and the Middle East back before an international audience.
The trip thus closed a circle that began in the laboratories of Silicon Valley and ended at the United Nations podium, with a common thread running through the effort by Athens to link the economy, technology, the Greek diaspora and foreign policy into a broader narrative of Greece’s international presence.