The upgrade of the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis to allow large ships to berth and heavy military equipment to be loaded and unloaded were the focus of comments by Greek National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who received representatives of participants in the Defender Europe 2021 exercise on site on Friday.

Alexandroupolis' geostrategic location has been key to attract large-scale investments, including new infrastructure at the piers, facilities for a terminal regasification station, linkage to the railroad network and Egnatia Odos, and the continuing expansion of the region where the NATO fueling pipe is located. These investments will turn the port city into part of a vertical strategic axis to the north for the speedy transfer of people and commerce, the minister said.

The Defender Europe 2021 exercise belongs in the framework of the Greece-United States strategic defense collaboration, "which is imbued by the desire of both countries to contribute fundamentally to the greater region's security, stability and prosperity," Panagiotopoulos said. He also recognized the "contribution, commitment and tireless efforts towards this" of the US Embassy and Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt in particular.

The strategic collaboration agreement is "under review by work groups of both countries to be revised soon, within this summer," he added.

(Date corrected to Friday)

[Photo, at center: Panagiotopoulos (R), Pyatt (L)]

See also:

US strategically committed to northern Greece, Pyatt tells ANA from Alexandroupolis