Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis greeted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Chania, Crete, on Monday evening. Mr Pompeo and his wife, Susan, will be staying at the Greek Prime Minister’s family home which overlooks Souda Bay.
On Tuesday, both leaders will visit Souda Naval Bay as part of the US official’s five-day trip to Greece.
On Monday, Mr Pompeo and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias met in Thessaloniki to discuss issues of bilateral, regional and international interest, with emphasis on Greece-US Strategic dialogue, defense and energy cooperation. The two also talked about developments in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. Mr Pompeo said Washington would use its diplomatic and military influence in the region to try to ease tension between NATO allies Greece and Turkey over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
Mr Pompeo, the first US Secretary of State to visit Thessaloniki, tweeted shortly before leaving Washington, that he was “heading to Europe to reinforce our strong bilateral relationships and the importance of sustained regional cooperation. First stop: Thessaloniki, Greece.”
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The US official participated in a round table discussion on energy, in the presence of Environment and Energy Minister Costis Hatzidakis, followed by the signing of an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between Greece and the USA, in the presence of Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis.
US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt posted on Twitter: “Proud of the new Science and Technology Agreement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis signed today. The agreement will improve Greece’s investment climate and advance positive models for research integrity, transparency and merit-based science.”
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He ended his visit to Thessaloniki by heading to the Jewish Museum in Thessaloniki.