Greek National Defence Deputy Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis was in Washington on Monday at the head of a Greek delegation in the talks of the US-Greece High Level Consultative Committee which was held on October 23-24.Plakiotakis' visit follows a visit by Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, General Dimitris Grapsas last month. Mr. Plaiotakis met with Republican party advisor, General Brent Snowcroft, and Micheal Haltzel, democratic party advisor

The topics discussed during the Greek-American talks include defence cooperation on a bilateral and Alliance level and the security situation in the broader region of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, the Black Sea and the Caucasus.

Apart from meeting U.S. officials, the Greek deputy defence minister laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the national cemetery of Arlington and visited the monument of the victims of September 11 at the Pentagon.

Furthermore, he spoke on Greece's role in Southeast Europe, at the Centre of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

Plakiotakis also visited the American Hellenic Institute, inaugurated an exhibition of Cretan artists at the Greek Embassy and attended a reception that was hosted in his honor by Greek Ambassador Alexandros Mallias.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Valinakis concluded his visit to Canada (from 17 to 20 October). Mr. Valinakis represented Greece at the proceedings of the 12th Francophonie Summit in Quebec, which discussed current international developments and member state cooperation in a series of important areas.

SAE Europe will hold its Regional Convention in Frankfurt on October 24-26 with the participation of Greek expatriate organizations active in Europe.