Washington D.C, 26 June 2023 (TDI): US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, congratulates Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his reappointment as the Prime Minister of Greece. He acknowledges Greece’s position as a vital NATO ally and its position of being America’s most important partner in NATO’s eastern flanks.
America-Greece Relations
Greece is strategically located on NATO’s southern flank in the Eastern Aegean. The US-Greece Mutual Security Cooperation Agreement will be updated in October. It’s the foundation of the strong US-Greece defense connection, bolstering US training and operations in Souda Bay. It also introduces additional initiatives that promote stability in the region from locations such as Greece’s Larissa Air Base.
As a regional leader, enduring NATO ally, and EU partner, Athens collaborates with Washington to foster stability, growth in the economy, and geographic integration. It includes efforts to boost Western Balkan allies’ European goals.
The US strongly endorses Greece’s leadership role in expanding the supply of energy in Europe and guaranteeing regional energy supply cooperation.
Greece’s geostrategic position, with its involvement in international diplomatic efforts such as the “3+1” initiative, makes it an essential partner in fostering discourse and economic prospects in the Eastern Mediterranean.
History of Greece-US Relations
Following the independence of Greece from the previous Ottoman Empire around 1837, the US assigned its first ambassador to Greece, and diplomatic ties were established with Greece in 1868.
After the Second War, America provided hundreds of millions of euros within the framework of the Marshall Plan, which aimed to restore Greece’s infrastructure, agriculture, and commerce.
Today, approximately 3 million American citizens of Greek heritage live in the United States. In December 2018, the United States and Greece started the first US-Greece Bilateral Dialogue.
The dialogue remains an important component of their bilateral relationship, focusing on improving common goals in regional cooperation, security and defense, investment and trade, power and atmosphere, criminal justice and preventing terrorism, humanitarian obstacles and emergency preparedness, and relationships between people.
The fourth session of the Strategic Dialogue was conducted in February 2023, demonstrating the two nations’ growing cooperation and areas of strategic policy alignment.
