Greek PM’s White House Visit Sign of Stronger Ties with US

Bilateral ties, trade, and promoting regional peace and security topped the agenda of talks at the White House on Tuesday, between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US President Donald Trump.

The US leader hailed Greece for its “comeback”, adding that relations were as good as they can get…  “We’re doing a lot of things together… and Greece has made a tremendous comeback”, he said.

On his part, Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s call for US investments. “So we’ll also be looking to your support to convince American companies to invest more in Greece, and help us grow the economy at a pace where people are really going to feel the difference,” he said.

The visit, which coincided with an escalation of US-Iran tensions, also focused on defense issues as well as Turkey’s hostile activities including Turkish air jet violations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean after entering a maritime borders agreement last month with the Tripoli-based government of Libya.

“It is important to point out that the agreement signed between Turkey and Libya infringes upon Greece’s sovereign rights and essentially causes great concern and instability in a region which is already highly problematic,” said Mitsotakis.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council event, Mitsotakis said Greece was emerging stronger from the crisis years and was “looking to aggressively attract foreign direct investment”, adding that his US visit was a chance “to set new, more ambitious targets”.

In the meantime, US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said ties between the two countries were at an all-time high.

“It is an excellent period for US-Greek relations. After a decade of economic crisis, Greece has transformed and is a source of solutions, a pillar of stability, and a critical partner in America’s broader strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond,” said Pyatt on Wednesday, after the meeting between the two leaders.