A meeting between the Secretary of the Interior and President of the US Energy Sovereignty Council, Doug Burgum, and seven leading representatives of the Greek shipping industry, which owns energy-transporting vessels, took place on the sidelines of the 6th Intergovernmental Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) at Zappeion in a very warm atmosphere.
The meeting, was attended by the new US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle. On the Greek side were present George Prokopiou, Maria Angelicoussis, Dr. Nikolas Nikos Tsakos, Yiannis Alafouzos, Petros Pappas, Ioanna Prokopiou and the vice president of the Greek Shipowners' Association, Michalis Chandris.
Opening the meeting, Secretary Bergham stressed the importance of working with Greece at a time when global security and the energy supply chain are under pressure. Referring to the recent attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, he noted that this instability “raises costs for the United States and our allies, while favoring our adversaries.”
The US secretary focused on the “strategic resilience” that the West needs to ensure energy sufficiency, noting that shipping is a central link in this chain. He praised the contribution of Greece, which – as he said – “with a small population, has 25% of the world’s fleet under the flag of international shipping registries.”
At the same time, he sent a message about the need for the US to “re-enter the shipping game dynamically”, as they have begun to do in sectors such as the mining of critical metals. “If we want a safe world, we must be present in shipping and the shipbuilding industry”, he stressed.
The Greek shipowner said that this meeting would be the beginning of a new era of “real maritime cooperation” between the two sides of the Atlantic.
The meeting in the framework of P-TEC proved that energy security is not only a matter of production, but also of transportation. Greek shipping, with its know-how and fleet, offers the US a ready and reliable bridge to the global market. On the other hand, Washington sees in Greece not only a traditional ally, but a strategic partner in the era of energy transition and maritime renaissance.
Shipping, as all sides admitted, is returning to the forefront of international politics — and Greece is at the helm of this new course.
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