Greece’s environment and energy minister Stavros Papastavrou agreed with his US counterpart, Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, on the need to set up a working group focused on matters regarding the vertical energy corridor during a meeting in Washington.

Papastavrou also met with the President of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), John Jovanovic, who, according to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, emphasized the pivotal role of the Vertical Corridor in the U.S. energy export strategy.

The EXIM President outlined the strategic priority of the United States to strengthen the resilience of the global supply chain for American LNG, particularly in the region. A key requirement for this, he noted, is the expansion of natural gas storage and regasification capacity.

In addition, they discussed the Bank’s €100-billion financing program aimed at Europe and countries of the Eastern Mediterranean. The EXIM President highlighted the Bank’s steady focus on critical raw materials, while the Minister pointed to Greece’s development of gallium as a critical mineral resource.

Finally, Jovanovic extended an invitation to the Greek minister to participate as a speaker at the Bank’s annual conference, which will take place in April 2026.

The first meeting of the participating countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine) has already been scheduled for December 10.

On Wednesday, the Greek Minister met with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.