Speeches and Articles
Ambassador's Remarks at the Amcham Dinner
June 6, 2007
Thank you Vlassi and Stefano for those kind introductions and for your warm words on my work here during a wonderful two and a half years as Ambassador in Athens. You know, hearing all this praise is not good for my health. I also feel however that I had better leave the country pretty quickly, before people find out that I really don't walk on water.
It is great to see so many friends, and to dine once more in this beautiful club dedicated to my favorite sport.
I'm not the only one changing jobs this month, however. Stefano, you will be giving up the reins as President of the Amcham, after two highly successful three year terms. In the six years of your leadership, you have increased Amcham's membership to the point where it is the fourth largest Amcham in Europe. You have led Amcham in outreach to the Balkans and the Middle East, introduced important sectoral conferences and engaged the government on important policy issues. You will be leaving the Amcham in excellent shape, with a strong reputation. It is not hyperbole when I often call the Hellenic American Chamber the best Amcham on the planet.
Let me also thank the dinner's other co-sponsor, the distinguished Athens Chapter of the Propeller Club. It turns out – there is a trend here – that Vlassis also will be giving up his position at the end of the month. And what a position it is -- the Propeller Club chapter in Greece is the largest outside of the United States, which is perfectly appropriate given that Greeks -- directly and indirectly -- own more of the world's commercial shipping tonnage than anyone else. And, with recent changes in tax and regulatory policies, Athens is fast becoming a major headquarters not only for shipping companies but for ancillary services, such as finance, insurance, ship construction, etc. Vlassis, I am sorry that I won't be here for the International Propeller Club meeting here in Athens in October, which promises to be a great success.
Many of you have heard me remark that it is better to be lucky than smart. And I feel very lucky indeed to have had the honor of representing my country in Greece at a time when we have made significant progress in improving the partnership between the United States and the Hellenic Republic. A key factor for this improvement has been Greece's own increasing "extroversion," as Foreign Minister Bakoyannis puts it. A Greece that is concerned and involved in global affairs is a nation that has increasing weight in world capitals, including Washington.
I arrived in Athens in January 2005, the month named after Janus, the Roman God of gates, doors and beginnings, the one with the two faces, looking forward and back. Janus was in charge of changes and transitions, and I'm told there was a portal dedicated to him in the Roman forum through which all legionnaires went off to war. So I hope you'd indulge me in this, my last speech as Ambassador, as I take a look back on some of the things we have accomplished together and take a look forward at what the future might look like in Greek-American relations.
Looking Back
In January 2005, the memory of the impressive organization, efficiency and hospitality that Greece brought to hosting the 2004 Olympics was very fresh and the post-Olympics travel boom was building up a head of steam. But also in January 2005, Greece began a two-year stint on the UN Security Council, the first such opportunity for the nation in over 50 years. Greece's election to this seat was a reflection of the new respect for Greek diplomacy in European capitals. President Bush also took his second oath of office in January 2005, and Condoleeza Rice was sworn in as Secretary of State. In the President's second term, he pledged to rebuild our relationships with European countries in general and fashion partnerships to deal with global challenges in particular.
I was very pleased, therefore, to help arrange for Foreign Minister Molyviatis' March 2005 visit to Washington, for Prime Minister Karamanlis' May 2005 meeting with the President, for Foreign Minister Bakoyannis' March 2006 visit to Secretary Rice, and for Secretary Rice's April 2006 return visit here, the first bilateral visit by a US Secretary of State in 20 years, I might add. And this spring Foreign Minister Bakoyannis and Economics and Finance Minister Alogoskoufis were again in Washington. What these and countless other encounters at NATO and elsewhere built was a relationship of trust and confidence between Greek ministers and their American counterparts. It is not so much about what is "won or lost," but about developing the trust and confidence of allies and friends.
So, despite the misgivings of some, Secretary Rice agreed to participate in a debate on the Middle East under the Greek Presidency of the UN Security Council in 2006. It was a success.
Similarly, the U.S. was impressed by the accomplishments of the Greek Presidency of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in 2006. During this Presidency, U.S. assistance funds were used on technical assistance in support of a watershed energy agreement. The agreement, signed over a year ago in Athens, facilitated the development of a regional electricity trading regime.
At Greece's request, we supported the first meeting between the "Contact Group" and the SEECP countries, advancing the process of finding a sustainable future for Kosovo. Greece offered support for the President's vision of supporting democracy in the Broader Middle East and stepped up as a charter member of the Foundation for the Future.
Our military to military relationship has also gone from strength to strength. We are proud that in 2005 the Hellenic Air Force again chose U.S.-built F-16 fighter aircraft as a cost-effective solution to Greece's air defense needs. Lockheed Martin for its part has crafted a close relationship with Hellenic Aviation Industries in building components for the F-16 aircraft, as well as other industrial offset agreements. In fact, our appreciation for HAI's technical capability and competitiveness is such that the U.S. Air Force recently chose HAI to upgrade US Air Force F-16's, a contract worth $44 million. We will be celebrating signature of this contract tomorrow evening, in fact.
The U.S. Army has been impressed by innovative armor technology developed by the high-tech Greek firm Soukos Robots. Raytheon and Soukos reached a joint venture agreement to commercialize this promising technology and I hope to see big procurements down the road. All these deals, and many others, show an increasing two-way street in defense procurement. I have said often that defense acquisition should be made on strict price and quality basis. We don't buy arms – or any other goods – from each other in order to buy friendship. The political benefits come from well-equipped allies engaging in common defense activities with interoperable equipment.
When I arrived in Greece, it had been five or more years since we had had a major US Navy ship visit in a Greek port other than Souda Bay. Anti-Americanism and security worries were the main deterrents. Starting in 2005, however, we have had many successful ship visits, with our Navy men and women visiting ports from Corfu to Rhodes, making friends for the U.S. and enjoying Greek hospitality. In many cases our sailors also have volunteered for community service projects. When we bring 5000 well-behaved sailors off a US Navy carrier for three days we inject around $10 million into the local economy. But more importantly those 5000 20 year-olds make friends and go home inspired to come back later with their families. Sailors today, tourists tomorrow.
Also, in my time here, we have been able to upgrade Greece in respect to its commitment to fighting the scourge of human trafficking and in aviation safety.
Everyone in this audience knows of the successes of the Greek economy, for five years the best performing economy of the euro-group.
One major reason for the success has been the continuing process of reform here in Greece, involving lowered tax rates, privatization, and some labor market changes. Accelerating growth in nearby countries also has played a big part, as have fast growing shipping and tourism sectors.
There hasn't been as much American investment as I would have liked to have seen, but we have had some significant deals. Procter and Gamble purchased Rolco-Bianil, First Data bought Delta-Singular and Microsoft has ramped up its commitment to Greece. There are more and more Starbucks shops around Greece, and American companies are bidding to supply equipment to OPAP and to operate world-scale logistics parks.
There are problems of course, as Amcham members know. Backlogs in hospital reimbursements burden international pharmaceutical companies, who already sell drugs in Greece at prices pegged to the lowest prices in the EU. Intellectual property protection, while much improved, still can be strengthened. Zoning and regulatory complications often stymie investors, including in renewable energy. But all in all, things are getting better on the economic front.
On the morning of January 12, history took a step backward when persons unknown slammed a rocket-propelled grenade into our Embassy building on Vasilisis Sophias. This was an attack on the interests of Greece as much as it was on the Embassy.
Fortunately no one was hurt and the Ministry of Public Order responded quickly and professionally. The investigation is ongoing and active. In an unprecedented, coordinated fashion the US and Greek Governments have offered million dollar rewards for information leading to apprehension of the perpetrators of such a senseless act. We appreciate the cooperation that we have received in the investigation.
We also admire the professionalism of the recently concluded appeals trial that essentially reaffirmed the sentences of the members of the murderous "November 17" group.
We have continued to move ahead in our cultural relationship. The Greek and American cultural scenes have always been intimately linked. Our architecture, painting, poetry, philosophy and theatre were inspired by ancient Greek traditions, and pop culture of all kinds is increasingly globalized. Yet I have been delighted to see Athens build a jazz scene and to see exhibits of ancient and modern Greek art in New York.
Last summer, we welcomed the Pittsburg Symphony to Patras and Liza Minelli to the Herodion. This year, I will be sad to miss the superstar Norah Jones, who will play the Athens Festival in late July, in a benefit for the Arts Center at ACS.
We are grateful to the Onassis and Niarchos Foundations which are generous in funding cultural exchanges. In fact, I am delighted to announce the Niarchos Foundation agreed to support an Embassy-Fulbright Foundation "Great Ideas" speakers series, beginning later this year.
Finally, I was honored to take part in last month's dedication of our new Embassy Annex Office Building, the first new construction by the US Government since 1961. The Annex Building – which needs a better name, in my opinion – is very environmentally friendly and surrounded by green space. It certainly improves the neighborhood!
Looking Forward
Now, to that other face of Janus, the one that looks forward.
First, let me say this lovely country of Greece has much to be confident about. Its immediate neighborhood is more secure and stable than it ever has been.
There are political uncertainties in an election year in neighboring Turkey, but last December a way was found, with Greek diplomatic help, to keep the Turkey-EU process on track and it continues on a technocratic basis. There will be more hurdles and of course Turkey must meet the criteria of the European Union acquis to be eligible to join, just as Sweden, or Finland, or Slovakia had to do. But I am optimistic that Turkey will eventually join the EU, which will be a good thing for Turkey, for Greece, and for the EU itself.
To the north, up to three more close neighbors may be invited next year to join NATO, which would further bolster Greece's security and strengthen the Alliance. President Bush is visiting with the three this weekend in Tirana to encourage them to work to meet the high standards of Alliance membership.
A UN Security Council Resolution opening the way for supervised independence for Kosovo should unlock economic growth and prosperity there, which would be much to the benefit of Greek business. Hellenic Petroleum has a project to build an oil product pipeline from Skopje to Pristina. PPC in partnership with Contour Energy has filed a "statement of interest" in a large Kosovo lignite project that could transform electricity trade in the Balkans. Sovereignty for Kosovo also would allow access to international financial institutions, which can help provide badly needed credit and technical assistance.
We strongly support Greece's effort, along with Italy and Turkey, to bring new energy sources and security to European energy markets. Greece and its partners are doing so by building a "southern corridor" to bring Caspian region gas to Italy and beyond.
With regard to Cyprus, I believe that Turkey made serious compromises in its willingness to support the Turkish Cypriot community's endorsement of a reunification plan in 2004. It was therefore unfortunate that it was voted down among Greek Cypriots. Nevertheless, reunification of the island of Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation remains an important goal for the future. In my view, a sustainable solution will require all sides to consider the concerns of the others.
Further afield, there are many more problems. NATO is engaged in a very important mission in Afghanistan. Greek military doctors and engineers are on station tonight in Kabul. They are making an important contribution, and are well-respected. It will not surprise you that I think that Greece could and should do more, in its own interest and in the interest of the Alliance.
In our bilateral relationship, I believe we are laying the groundwork for the much awaited acceptance of Greece as a participant in the Visa Waiver Program, based on a secure new passport and robust security cooperation. In the world we live in, a visa waiver system must be seen as security-enhancing, not as a loophole. There are new ideas for doing this and I hope we can work together to put them in place.
Meanwhile, the Greek economy as well as our political relationship will be bolstered by the boom in American visitors to Greece. From two flights daily in 2005, this summer Greece and the U.S. will be linked by 5 daily flights, and airline executives tell me bookings are strong. I feel that our visitors are the best Ambassadors of America in this country. They make friends and take home lasting memories.
Greece will be facing an election in the coming nine months. It is of course not for me to comment on domestic politics, and I won't. I do fervently hope however, that the U.S., or foreign policy more generally, doesn't become a major issue in the election.
I also hope that, while the specifics of educational reform are a matter for Greeks to decide, the result will be a strong, world-class university sector here in Greece. I believe that the American-affiliated and accredited colleges and universities here in Greece make a real contribution to this country, and some of them have been doing so for over a century. I also find it frustrating that I have not been able to speak on a university campus in my time here, and I hope that in the interest of free flow of ideas that my successor will have that privilege. The young are our legacy and education is among the most important tasks of a society.
But what of Greece and America in the coming years? How will our relationship evolve? A short word about my philosophy of diplomacy. In the real world, diplomacy is not about victories or defeats, or about bringing home achievements from every visit or getting everything and not giving anything.
Successful diplomacy, at least among friends and allies, is about partnership. It means paying attention to issues and problems that are of concern to your partners and finding ways, consistent with your principles and interests, to make progress together. Security and prosperity for our peoples is our goal. We also need to back up our principles with resources, whether fighting narco-terrorism in Afghanistan, or AIDS in Africa.
In this connection, as Greece becomes more extroverted, more involved around the world in partnership with its European partners and North American allies, as it broadens its horizons beyond the Mediterranean, it can count on better relationships in capitals, including Washington.
As for me, as everyone knows, I will be off to a challenging assignment in Baghdad. I believe we all have a huge stake in building a prosperous and peaceful Iraq. But, I am under no illusions. I realize that life, and work, in Baghdad will be frustrating and at times maybe a bit dangerous. I will be sustained however by the company of my wife Marcie and the friendships and wonderful experiences I have had in my time here.
I close with just one request. That you accord Tom Countryman as Charge, as well as my successor once named, all the friendship and support that you have afforded me. And I hope to come back for visits early and often. There are at least 100 Aegean and Ionian islands that I haven't seen yet. Thank you.