class="x_paragraph">On February 9, Greece became the 35th country to sign the Artemis Accords. Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis signed the Accords for Greece during the fifth round of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue, held in Washington, D.C. at the Department of State. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and President of the Hellenic Space Center Dr. Ioannis Daglis spoke at the signing, welcoming Greece's commitment to the peaceful, safe and transparent exploration and use of outer space.
The United States views Greece as an indispensable partner and a key NATO Ally defending NATO's southeastern flank. United by democratic values we are advancing our shared goals for peace and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Balkans, Black Sea region, and beyond. Our countries' shared values extend to efforts beyond our defense cooperation and include a partnership in addressing climate change, increasing bilateral investment and trade opportunities, and strengthening educational and cultural ties. These efforts ensure that the U.S.-Greece relationship is stronger than ever.
The U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue is an important feature of our bilateral relationship and focuses on advancing shared priorities in the areas of regional cooperation, defense and security, trade and investment, energy and environment, law enforcement and counterterrorism, humanitarian challenges and disaster preparedness, and people-to-people ties.
The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States and seven other countries. They set out a practical set of principles to guide space exploration. Greece joins 34 other nations - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States - in affirming the Accords' principles for sustainable civil space activity. The Department of State and NASA lead the United States' outreach and implementation of the Accords.
