N. DENDIAS: Dear Secretary of State, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you in Athens.
It has been almost a year and a half since our Third Strategic Dialogue in Washington. In the meantime, we have seen war returning to Europe with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
We have also witnessed revisionist rhetoric and defiance of International Law emanating from a number of international actors.
The fact is that, in the middle of all this, the strong Greek – US cooperation has been enhanced even further. That speaks volumes for our relation.
The strengthening of this cooperation promotes our mutual interests, as well as regional peace, stability and prosperity.
It is also based on shared values and on our respect for International Law.
The Fourth Strategic Dialogue is the culmination of a series of Working Group meetings and initiatives of our experts from various Ministries.
There has been progress in all the Strategic Dialogue’s subjects: Defense and security, law enforcement and counter-terrorism, humanitarian challenges, trade and investment, energy and environment, and, last but not least, People-to-People contacts.
Moreover, we will be conducting open and in-depth discussions on regional political issues.
The Strategic Dialogue is an excellent symbol of the strategic relationship between our two countries.
It also shows the continuing interest of the USA in our wider region.
Our cooperation on defense and security has been going back for decades; but there are plenty of things to show since the last Strategic Dialogue.
The timely inclusion of Alexandroupolis in the MDCA allowed it to play a crucial role when it was most needed.
We are looking forward to speeding up our electric interconnections with the two neighboring continents: Asia, through Israel, and Africa, through Egypt.
At the same time, tourist flows have regained their pre-pandemic levels.
The Strategic Dialogue is an excellent demonstration of the strategic relationship between our two countries.
I know that you have brought with you a group of remarkable high officials from Washington who will shortly be meeting with our team.
Being aware of the dedication that everybody involved has shown in preparing this Fourth Strategic Dialogue, I am certain that it will be a success.
Thank you so much.