The United States and Greece are opening a new channel for counterterrorism information sharing between their law enforcement agencies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday during an official visit to Athens.

Rubio described Greece as a “strong and model NATO ally” while outlining the joint initiative. The agreement places law enforcement cooperation at the center of efforts to address security threats confronting both countries.

Rubio said Greece faces particular exposure to dangers connected with mass migration and human trafficking. Those concerns helped frame the new security arrangement announced alongside Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.

“As part of our efforts to combat these common threats to our nations, we’re proud to announce a new memorandum of understanding establishing a joint security program to strengthen the counterterrorism information sharing between our respective law enforcement agencies,” Rubio told reporters.

The memorandum of understanding establishes the joint security program described by Rubio. His announcement focused specifically on strengthening the exchange of counterterrorism information between American and Greek law enforcement agencies.

The announcement came as Rubio and Gerapetritis met for the sixth round of the United States and Greece strategic dialogue. The dialogue began in 2018 and has served as the setting for agreements involving security, economic activity, and cultural relations.

According to a joint statement, the two sides agreed “to deepen defense ties, bolster trade and investment, and promote cultural ties.” The latest round therefore covered cooperation beyond the newly announced law enforcement information sharing program.

Greece has provided key military facilities used to protect security in the Eastern Mediterranean, making the country an important NATO ally for the United States. Greece also leads a European Union maritime mission protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Those military and maritime roles formed part of the broader relationship discussed during the strategic dialogue. The talks paired the counterterrorism announcement with plans to expand cooperation between the two militaries and explore additional industrial opportunities.

The joint statement said Greece would receive $4 billion to support a defense plan covering an extended period. That plan is intended to increase interoperability between the American and Greek militaries.

The two countries also agreed to “explore future opportunities for defense industrial base cooperation.” The statement did not provide additional details about those prospective opportunities, but placed them alongside the planned military interoperability effort.

Gerapetritis addressed another maritime security issue during the visit. He said Greece was willing to cooperate with the United States and provide maritime assistance in the Strait of Hormuz if a viable peace process exists there.

Rubio also defended U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after American senators raised concerns about allegations involving her conduct. The allegations claimed that Guilfoyle had threatened that the United States could use its influence to undermine the Greek government.

When Rubio was asked whether Guilfoyle’s conduct complied with State Department ethics, he offered a direct endorsement of the embassy and ambassador. “Suffice it to say, our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

The Athens visit ultimately produced a concrete law enforcement agreement while advancing a wider strategic agenda. Counterterrorism information sharing, military interoperability, maritime assistance, trade, investment, cultural ties, and potential industrial cooperation all appeared in the discussions or joint statement.

For Greece, the dialogue highlighted its military facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean and its leadership of the European Union maritime mission in the Red Sea. For the United States, the visit reinforced cooperation with an ally Rubio publicly praised as both strong and a model within NATO.