Charge d’Affaires Huck addressed the 9th Southeast Europe Energy Forum, emphasizing Greece’s growing role as an energy hub in the region. In his remarks, he acknowledged the efforts of various organizations and partners involved in organizing the event, including the U.S. Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic Council for the Global Energy Institute at the US Chambers of Commerce.
“So, to answer your question, first, we see Greece as emerging energy hub. This is something that the Greek government deserves great credit for and an enormous amount of work has been put in through many different players to help achieve this, but the United States, as a deep, long standing partner of Greece is honored to be a supporter in this effort,” said Huck.
He highlighted Greece’s strategic geographic position as significant for regional energy security. According to Huck, “As we were discussing in a previous panel earlier several of us, the long standing challenge in Europe has been, the Russian monopoly of energy supply moving from east to west. And the vertical corridor breaks that monopoly by adding from south to north option; Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and onto Ukraine. Absolutely critical Greece’s geography and that, but that brings me to the second point: good governance and leadership.”
Huck also noted that effective governance has enabled Greece to capitalize on its location: “You could have the geography, but if you don’t take the steps, if you’re not committed as a government to making it happen, it won’t. And so Greece has done that...”
Investment and infrastructure development were cited as key factors supporting this progress. The United States has contributed through its Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which invested $125 million into Elefsina shipyards to support LNG ship servicing capabilities and enhance LNG cargo movement through regional corridors. Additionally, U.S. companies such as Venture Global are active participants at facilities like Alexandroupoli’s floating storage and regasification unit.
“In all those areas we see Greece as a critical partner,” Huck stated.
He concluded by framing energy cooperation within a broader alliance between both countries: “I would just conclude by saying energy is only one part of an incredibly broad and deep alliance that we have with Greece... I want to stress the degree of focus that the Trump administration has on the US Greece relationship. It’s an honor to be here... We have an enormous amount we can accomplish in this relationship, and energy is a crucial piece of that.”