ATHENS: US President Barack Obama arrived in Athens on Tuesday, the first stop on a final foreign trip that will aim to reassure worried Europeans following Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election victory.
Opening a farewell visit to Europe, Obama is to visit the Parthenon, deliver a speech on the challenges of globalisation and meet Greek leaders before heading to Germany on Wednesday.
The 44th president will conclude his trip with a stop in Peru for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). Among the leaders he is expected to meet there is President Xi Jinping of China.
Greek leaders are anxious for a new US pledge to help in alleviating the country’s enormous public debt, a measure actively sought by the International Monetary Fund but opposed by leading European lender Germany.
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Tuesday said Obama’s visit would “contribute to promoting a fair and viable solution on the Greek debt.”
Obama is also expected to address Europe’s challenge in accommodating hundreds of thousands of refugees who have arrived on the continent fleeing conflict in the Middle East.
