



The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived in Athens on Monday for meetings with Greek defense officials.

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford is being hosted by Greek navy Adm. Evangelos Apostolakis, the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff.

The two men and their staffs will discuss ways to increase cooperation between the two already close NATO allies.

The United States is keen to boost trade and military cooperation with NATO ally Greece.

On August 27, the US-Greece mutual defense cooperation agreement was extended until August 9, 2019. The agreement provides for the operation by the U.S. of a naval support facility at the deep-water port and airfield at Souda Bay on Crete.

The U.S. also has a presence in Larissa, central Greece, where American MQ-9 drones are based.

Later this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is due to visit an annual trade fair in northern Greece, along with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who is chairman of the Senate committee of homeland security and subcommittee on European and regional security cooperation.



