EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed Meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis During U.S. Government Delegation Visit to Greece to Advance Economic Cooperation and Development
WASHINGTON - Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Kimberly Reed yesterday met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, senior government officials, and private sector leaders as part of a U.S. government delegation visit to Athens, Greece. The discussions focused on advancing economic cooperation, development, and strategic investments that support diversity of supplies.
The delegation, led by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Executive Officer Adam Boehler, includes Special Advisor to the President on Serbia-Kosovo Ambassador Richard Grenell; U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick; EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed, Chief of Staff David Fogel, and Chief Strategy Officer Luke Lindberg; and other senior government officials from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy, DFC, USAID, the White House, and the National Security Council. EXIM works closely with these U.S. agencies and the White House to advance key economic priorities, job creation, and prosperity in the United States and around the world.
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt also was involved in the meetings.
"I am very pleased to welcome Chairman Reed of the Export-Import Bank as part of the delegation to Greece led by Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation Adam Boehler. The Export-Import Bank is an essential tool of U.S. diplomacy, and Chairman Reed's visit reflects the United States' commitment to be a strong partner for Greece. Like the Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank can play an indispensable role in helping ensure the United States remains Greece's partner of choice for critical infrastructure and development projects, especially those in the energy sector and involving cutting edge technology, where American products lead the world, and stands in strong contrast to the checkbook diplomacy of malign actors," said Ambassador Pyatt.
"I thank Prime Minister Mitsotakis and the Greek government officials for our substantive discussions on the role of EXIM in supporting U.S. exports to Greece, including liquefied natural gas, renewable energy, and emerging financial technologies. Our EXIM team looks forward to continuing the dialogue," said EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed. "I also commend DFC CEO Adam Boehler for his leadership in putting this broad U.S. delegation together, and Ambassador Pyatt and the U.S. Embassy in Athens for the outstanding program. The United States is collectively focused on enhancing economic cooperation and supporting economic growth, investment, and prosperity with Greece," said EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed.
In addition to meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis, the U.S. delegation met with several senior government officials, including Greek Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis, Alternative Minister for Development and Investments Nikos Papathanasis, Minister of Environment and Energy Konstantinos Hatzidakis, and American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce members.
The U.S. delegation also visited the Port of Piraeus, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest ports in Europe. In 2016, the People's Republic of China state-owned shipping conglomerate COSCO purchased a majority stake in the Port of Piraeus, which is strategically located between Europe and Asia. The delegation also toured the Elefsina Shipyard and met with workers.
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis (center) and Greek Ministers(right) meet with the U.S. delegation (left). U.S. participants (l-r): USAID Deputy Admin. Glick; EXIM Chairman Reed; Dept. of Energy P-DAS for Int'l Affairs Dr. Matthew Zais; Ambassador Pyatt; DFC CEO Boehler
Traveling via tugboat past the Port of Piraeus to the ElefsinaShipyard.
L-R: EXIM Chairman Reed, Minister Papathanasis, DFC CEO Boehler, Minister Georgiadis, Ambassador Pyatt
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.