ATHENS – [ANA-MPA]
The sixth round of the Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue will take place in Athens on Wednesday, October 7, with the participation of Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to diplomatic sources, the two ministers will hold a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 09:00, followed half an hour later by statements to the press. At 10:00, they will begin the sixth round of the Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue.
The opening session will be held in plenary and will focus on the most important regional and international developments, amid a period of heightened geopolitical instability.
The Strategic Dialogue agenda covers a broad range of areas of Greece-U.S. cooperation. During the individual working sessions, attended by senior officials from both countries, participants will discuss regional issues and international developments, as well as security, energy, shipping, technology, trade and investment, defence, and strengthening ties between the two peoples.
Three agreements to be signed
The Strategic Dialogue is expected to include the signing of three agreements on issues of bilateral cooperation.
Specifically, the Memorandum of Understanding on the imposition of import restrictions on categories of archaeological and ethnological material dating up to the 15th century AD will be renewed.
Additionally, Greece and the US will sign a Letter of Intent to establish cooperation between the Hellenic Armed Forces and the Florida National Guard.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will also be signed on the mutual recognition of seafarers’ Certificates of Competency, under the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The aim is to facilitate employment opportunities for seafarers and strengthen Greece-US cooperation in maritime education and training.
Diplomatic sources noted that Rubio’s visit to Athens and the holding of the sixth Strategic Dialogue reflect the high level of Greece-U.S. relations and the two sides’ intention to further broaden their cooperation.
Athens also attaches particular importance to the timing of the visit, against the backdrop of geopolitical developments in the wider region. According to the same sources, Greece is seeking to strengthen its role as a stable and reliable strategic partner of the U.S. in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue was launched in 2018 and serves as the main institutional framework for monitoring and further developing bilateral cooperation. The previous, fifth round, was held in Washington in February 2024. In recent years, cooperation between the two countries has expanded into areas including defence and security, energy, infrastructure and digital technology. Greece also joined the Artemis Accords on space cooperation in 2024 and the Pax Silica initiative in 2026, aimed at coordinating investment in high technology and artificial intelligence infrastructure
