US, Greece call for peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in east Mediterranean
15:20, 28/09/2020, MondayU: Update: 15:21, 28/09/2020, Monday
REUTERS
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Greek Minister for Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis touch elbows during an agreement signing ceremony in Thessaloniki, Greece, September 28, 2020. Giannis Papanikos/Pool via REUTERS
ENERGY TIES
The United States also hopes to build up its energy ties with Greece, which seeks to become an energy hub in the Balkans and help Europe to diversify its energy resources.
Athens already imports large quantities of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is developing a floating LNG storage and regasification unit off the port of Alexandroupolis, which is expected to channel gas to Bulgaria via the Interconnector Greece - Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline and from there to central Europe by early 2023.
ExxonMobil, France's Total and Greece's Hellenic Petroleum have set up a joint venture that will look for gas and oil off the Greek island of Crete.
The United States has also expressed interest in the privatisation of the ports of Alexandroupolis and Kavala in northern Greece.
Pompeo and Greek Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis also signed on Monday a science and technology agreement. The two countries want to collaborate on artificial intelligence, cyber security, 5G and privatization of strategic infrastructure, their joint statement said.
Pompeo was due to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and to visit the Souda military base on Crete on Tuesday.