THESSALONIKI – [ANA-MPA]
“Without Greece’s leadership, the Vertical Gas Corridor would not have been possible,” Josh Huck, the new Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Athens, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on the sidelines of his visit to Thessaloniki and the 89th TIF.
“Greece is playing an absolutely critical role in the Vertical Corridor. Greece has done a really excellent job at positioning itself as an energy hub in a way that just wasn’t the case if you look back 10-20 years ago, just wasn’t true. And now Greece is a really important player for a few reasons. One, you’ve got geography, just the realities of geography and where we need to be able to access the European market, particularly this kind of eastern segment of the European market.”
He also referred to governance and political will. “The government has been really committed to this. And it’s also a matter of having the infrastructure, and the U.S. has played an important role in that. For example, in the Elefsis shipyards. The US, under our development finance corporation, committed 125 million to improving the Elefsis shipyards to be able to service LNG ships and get more, particularly US LNG, through the vertical corridor.”
“We’ve also, of course, a US company, who is one of the key players involved in the floating storage and regasification unit at Alexandroupolis. So, the US has had a role in this, but Greece is really central. And without Greece and without Greece’s leadership, the vertical corridor wouldn’t be possible. So we’re really excited about it as an opportunity, and we’ve been very happy with our cooperation with Greece so far on that issue.”
Regarding LNG imports (and American) with the aim of diversifying energy sources, he commented that this is “a very important story,” because for a long time, all the energy that was reaching Europe, or the vast majority of it, came from the East. “It was Russian energy sources. And that gave them monopoly control of the European markets. And, as someone said on the panel we had at the 9th Southeastern Europe Energy Forum of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce [last Friday], energy is security. I think not only in the United States, but also in Europe, there is now a broad transatlantic consensus that we need to find a secure energy future for Europe, one that is not dependent on Russian energy. So that’s where the Vertical Corridor comes in, and specifically the ability to diversify supply away from Russian energy.”
The chargé d’affaires of the US embassy in Athens also stressed that “the US is now the largest LNG exporter in the world, so it can play a very important role as a close ally of Greece, transporting these LNG cargoes through the Vertical Corridor, through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and eventually even Ukraine, in a way that really changes the landscape.”
Josh Huck called this development “very significant” and added: “We are still in the early stages, but there is still a lot to be done. But I think this is a really important strategic change in the region.”
The return to Thessaloniki and the first time at the TIF
“I was living in Bulgaria (17 years ago). I served three years in Sofia, Bulgaria, and had a chance to come down then. I loved Thessaloniki then, but now to come back many years later and to see how it’s grown, how vibrant it is. Driving around I could see how many people were out and walking around, enjoying themselves at 10, 11 at night. It’s a vibrant city. You can feel it. It’s really wonderful to see,” he underlined and added:
“The economic dynamism is a big part of that. So, in terms of the importance of the region, we’re very focused on this region as a really critical part, not only of Greece, but the broader region. And as I mentioned, my first interaction was from Bulgaria, so I see that Balkan context in a way that’s really important.”
He then referred to the three really critical ports in the region, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Alexandroupoli, for the energy component. “We’ve used many of those ports in a NATO context for exercises and training. You’ve got Mount Athos, a critical piece of the Greek Orthodox Church there as well. So just a really important set of issues here. And you have a really long-standing American presence, particularly you look at the farm school or our consulate here in Thessaloniki, which is an amazing strategic asset. We have a great team there.”
“So, we see all of that as being a really, really important part of US engagement, but also an important part of Greece’s story in the broader region,” he noted.
Josh Huck said that it’s his first visit to the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), and he was super impressed. “As we were saying, I’m seeing people actually enjoy themselves, kids enjoy themselves, and families. And so, it seems fantastic to me. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the exhibits, but it seems like it’s also a really useful chance for a lot of government and officials coming out and showing and explaining the things they do. And that’s a really useful role, and I’m not sure that governments around the world do that often enough. So, I’m impressed with it from that perspective.”
