The new US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, left excellent impressions as she departed the Presidential Mansion yesterday, after presenting her credentials to President of the Republic Kostas Tasoulas. According to comments attributed to him afterwards, Guilfoyle was spontaneous, energetic and well briefed — with an extremely demanding schedule that clearly signals her intentions now that she has formally assumed her duties.

“As I stated yesterday, it was a great honor to present my credentials to President Konstantinos Tasoulas. It is a profound honor to serve as Ambassador of the United States to the Hellenic Republic and to be the first woman to serve as US Ambassador to Greece,” Guilfoyle said. “I look forward to working with our Greek allies to promote peace, prosperity, and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, and I will be a proud representative of President Trump, a firm defender of US interests and a steadfast friend of Greece and the Greek people,” she concluded — as the countdown now begins for the 6th Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC), jointly organized by the US Department of Energy, the Greek Ministry of Environment & Energy and the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center tomorrow and the day after, at the Zappeion.

The presence at this year’s event of the US Secretaries of Energy and Interior, Chris Wright and Doug Burgum, places Greece squarely inside the core of the “LNG energy corridor” — which Guilfoyle had already focused on extensively during her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, setting a very high bar for her new post. Guilfoyle will in fact be at the Maximos Mansion twice today — beginning with her morning meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and returning in the afternoon accompanying Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

A corporate offensive

Meanwhile, the participation in P-TEC of the Energy Ministers of Bulgaria (Zhecho Stankov), Estonia (Andres Sutt), Lithuania (Žygimantas Vaičiūnas) and Ukraine (Roman Andarak), as well as the Croatian Finance Minister Ante Šušnjar, moves the “Vertical Corridor” mentioned by Guilfoyle in her Senate hearing closer to execution. The prospect of Greece emerging in practice as an energy hub for both Europe and America has already generated high expectations on both sides of the Atlantic — with more than 80 US-side business executives participating in the mission to attend tomorrow’s bilateral business forum at the Zappeion.

Trump agenda

Additionally, Guilfoyle is expected to introduce Secretary Burgum at tomorrow’s event — delivering her first public remarks on the US-Greece relationship and on the Trump administration’s energy policy in the Southeastern Mediterranean. For this reason, the remarks from US officials tomorrow are drawing significant interest regarding energy strategy for the region — and certainly will not go unnoticed by neighboring Turkey.

It is noted that the 6th ministerial of the flagship P-TEC platform will focus on European energy security, affordability and reliability, as well as discussions centered on artificial intelligence, the Vertical Corridor, security (including cybersecurity), energy infrastructure and investment. Particular emphasis will be placed on LNG’s role in supporting European competitiveness and growth, and strategies for improving connectivity and network security — at a time when ending dependence on Russian fossil fuels is becoming even more urgent.