Maximos Charakopoulos, New Democracy MP in Larissa, has been appointed as the new Head of the Greek delegation to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.
“I would like to thank Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the honor of being nominated by New Democracy for the position of head of the Greek delegation to this important international institution, which is the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy”, stressed Mr. Charakopoulos, after the first meeting of the Greek Parliamentary Delegation to the IAO under its new composition.
The IAO is an inter-parliamentary body created on the initiative of the Hellenic Parliament in 1993 and has its permanent seat in Athens. Orthodox members of the religious community from 25 countries participate in this international institution. The highest body of the IΑΟ is the Plenary of the Parliamentary Delegations that participate in it. Russia and Greece are permanent members of the Secretariat. The Secretary General, who directs the work of the Secretariat, is the head of the Greek Delegation.
In its long-standing presence, the IAO has made significant contributions to international issues, notably to the problems facing Christian communities in the Middle East. The IAO has also successfully promoted dialogue between parliaments on religions, notably with Islam, and is currently in talks with a group of experts from the Presidency of the Republic of Lebanon to set up a Religious Persecution Monitoring Center.
In addition, in order to establish a body to promote the presence of Christians in the wider Middle East, it has in principle met with a positive response from the administration of the University of Neapolis in Paphos regarding the establishment of this body within the University.
Source: ANA-MPA