Invitation to the US to participate in the next ministerial meeting of the 3+1 format (Greece, Israel, Cyprus+ USA) were addressed in a joint letter by the foreign ministers of the three countries, seeking to further deepen and upgrade regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Kathimerini reported that the letter is addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“The importance of this trilateral cooperation has already been recognized by the United States when, during your tenure in the Senate, you personally, Mr. Secretary, played a key role in promoting legislation that strengthened the interconnection between our three democracies in the Eastern Mediterranean and the United States,” it reads.

The three ministers underscore their willingness to work more closely with Washington in critical areas such as energy security, fighting terrorism, innovation, digital technology, civil protection and cybersecurity. As they point out, “the Eastern Mediterranean is of growing strategic importance as an energy and infrastructure hub connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Tassos Hadjivassiliou, speaking to APE-MPE on the sidelines of the 6th ECONOMIST conference on the Eastern Mediterranean, mentioned the importance of the 3+1 format (Greece-Cyprus-Israel-US) and stressed that Greece sees this cooperation as strategic and multidimensional.

“We discussed in ECONOMIST about the 3+1 scheme (Greece-Cyprus-Israel-USA) and the prospects of cooperation with the countries participating in it and I stressed the strategic relationship that Greece has with the United States, but also the very close – brotherly relationship it has with Cyprus and the partnership that our country also has with Israel,” he stressed.

The discussion, he said, extended beyond energy, touching on areas such as security, innovation, technology and artificial intelligence.

“We also talked about energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean and how it is important not only for the countries in the region, but also for the US. Also at the conference we discussed how the 3+1 format can work together and how we can expand the possibilities. In other words, apart from energy, we talked about security, technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, i.e. fields of modern challenges that can be useful in the 3+1 format,” Hajivassiliou said.

Hadjivassiliou reiterated his view that the 3+1 scheme can serve as a tool to promote the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

“I personally mentioned that Greece, believes that the 3+1 as a platform can be used as a tool to promote the idea of the IMEEC economic corridor. We believe in the IMECC and its importance and that Greece due to its geographical and geopolitical position could become a natural gateway to the IMECC corridor in Europe. We also talked about the cooperation of the 3+1 format in the energy sector with a special emphasis on the interconnection projects. The importance of the GREGY cable that will bring green energy from Egypt to the European market via Greece was stressed, as well as the Great Sea Interconnector that will connect Greece with Cyprus and Israel, thus bringing Europe and the Middle East closer together in energy,” he added.

He concluded by stressing that these projects serve multiple geostrategic objectives.

“I stressed that Greece supports these projects and that they should go ahead because they benefit not only our countries but also Europe on the one hand and the interests and priorities of the Americans on the other,” he said. On the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Hadjivassiliou also met with former White House Chief of Staff Rins Priebus with whom they exchanged views on current foreign policy issues regarding Greek-American and Euro-American relations, as well as with Chad Wolf, former US Secretary of Homeland Security and current Vice President of the “America First” Institute.

During his stay in New York, the Deputy Foreign Minister spoke at an event of the Hellenic American Bankers Association and also visited the New York Stock Exchange for meetings and contacts focusing on investment opportunities in Greece and the extroversion of Greek entrepreneurship.

He also gave an interview to the US network CNN and Jim Sciutto on tariffs and rebuilding the economy.