Energy and Environment Minister Stavros Papastaurou has been in Washington since yesterday evening (Greek time), aiming to forge new agreements with the Americans to promote investments in Greek hydrocarbons and LNG infrastructure. Minister Papastaurou has undertaken specific, specialized missions in his official and unofficial program. Specifically, as reported by Vasilis Georgas and Dimitris Andriopoulos in Apogevmatini, within a span of just a few months, the Greek minister will today hold his third round of contacts with top Trump administration officials Chris Wright and Doug Bergum, while his program also includes meetings with the head of the US Export-Import Bank, John Jovanovic, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, representatives of the American Jewish Committee, and Greek-American congressmen Dina Titus, Jimmy Patronis, and Gus Bilirakis.
According to his official program, Minister Papastaurou was expected to participate late Tuesday evening (early Wednesday morning Greek time) in the International Democracy Union Forum (Global Center-Right Organization), where invited guests included former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, European People’s Party Secretary-General and MEP Dolors Montserrat, as well as numerous senators, MEPs, and representatives of center-right parties from around the world.
Stavros Papastaurou’s agenda
Officially, the Greek minister traveled to the US to provide a thorough briefing on the progress of agreements signed at the P-TEC Summit in Athens in the presence of top US government officials and American energy sector executives. During this trip, Minister Papastaurou is expected to convey to his counterparts the progress of the agreement with Chevron for hydrocarbon exploration south of Crete and the Peloponnese, Greece’s upgraded role in LNG transit, and the positive results of the auction for the Vertical Corridor to Ukraine.
The objective, initially, is for the minister to confirm that the timeline is being met and that everything is proceeding well, as well as to demonstrate the impact that recent agreements have had in Greece and Europe. These agreements have enormous economic and geopolitical significance, but also carry political impact, something that became evident from the very positive response they received from Greek citizens, helping the government rise in polls. This development is very important, as it will allow the Greek minister to convey—with supporting data—the necessary image of stability and political security that exists in our country and is needed for such far-reaching investments.
Favorable climate for new energy agreements – Papastaurou’s personal contacts are “key”
The data that the Greek minister will present in the US will help him unofficially cultivate the climate for new energy agreements, something that has been pre-announced in statements by almost everyone—both Minister Papastaurou and the American officials who came to our country, US Ambassador to Athens Kimberly Guilfoyle, as well as high-ranking executives from energy companies in Greece and the US who have already concluded the first agreements. Now, what these will be we will obviously learn officially and not through leaks, as Minister Papastaurou has shown that he is a person who does not allow mistakes to be made and almost always speaks from the field.
Following in the footsteps of classical diplomacy, he proceeds quietly, with slow and steady steps in energy and investment diplomacy and has already managed to bring our country to the center of global developments, through the personal contacts he has cultivated with top US energy players, such as Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary and head of the National Energy Dominance Council Doug Bergum, as well as the leadership of energy giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil.
