“Greece is one of the most important allies of the United States,” the new U.S. Ambassador in Athens Kimberly Guilfoyle said on Friday, addressing the “Greece Talks” conference organised by Travel.gr and the news organisation “Proto Thema”.

She told the conference goers to prepare for a “take-off” in relations between the two countries, suggesting that new deals and collaboration were on the way, including an upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“We are not simply allies. A strong relationship between Greece and the U.S. is good not only for the two countries but for the world,” she said, adding that her goal as ambassador was to bring this about.

“There are no limits to our cooperation. It is the bonds between people that make this alliance unbreakable. We have millions of Americans and Greeks who travel and support our culture because at the heart of our alliance is the shared belief that democracy is not an idea of the past but the engine of our collective future,” she added, expressing her desire to do something important for the Greek people who had so warmly embraced her.

Regarding the energy agenda, the ambassador said she would be visiting Thessaloniki in December, as well referring to Souda and Alexandroupolis, saying she was very excited about going there, to start working on energy and to look at the infrastructure.

Talking about the progress of U.S.-Greek agreements, she noted that there are results and that these are more than just symbolic. “We are focusing on issues that are important for Greece to acquire sovereignty in energy and so there are bilateral relations. So I’d say ‘fasten your seatbelts because we are about to take off’.”

Talking about COSCO and the port of Piraeus, Guilfoyle replied that Greece was facing financial difficulties at the time of the Chinese investment, adding: “I am examining new opportunities for further cooperation for the port of Piraeus. Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean are very important and I also have the support of Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou. For 10 months we have been preparing some things. There are issues, commitments, U.S. companies.”

Questioned about the first meeting of the 3+1 scheme (Greece-Cyprus-Israel and the United States), she replied: “It was not a one-off thing we did. There will be one in the next quarter and next year. It sends a message to the rest of the world…”

The ambassador noted that there were a number of active projects in energy, commerce and defence, while saying she looked forward to cooperating with Greek shipowners, to being partners and collaborating in the building of ships, training and education.
On the prospect of visits by senior U.S. government officials, Guilfoyle underlined: “I am here, I don’t know how to better explain this to you…Secretary Rubio will come, we will have many visits and contacts. There will be a strong show of the relations in Greece.”

Regarding a visit by President Trump, Guilfoyle said that “we would very much want him to come” and that she liked the idea of him speaking at the Athens Acropolis, adding that such as visit would be “emblematic” and expressing confidence that Trump would get an incredibly warm reception and “would be delighted to be here”.