A senior U.S. Homeland Security official has delivered a letter of thanks to Greece for completing the requirements of the Visa Waiver Program, which lets Greeks travel to the United States without a visa, calling the effort a "success story."
Robert Law, the department's acting under secretary for strategy, policy and plans, handed the letter to Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis during talks in Athens, ending what both sides described as a long period of joint work.
The two men agreed to deepen cooperation against terrorism, organized crime and cross-border threats.
According to the Greek ministry, the plans include faster exchange of operational information and better interoperability between systems, more targeted joint action against transnational criminal networks, and closer direct contact between agencies and field personnel.
Priority areas include drug trafficking, the financial side of organized crime, money laundering, criminals' growing use of new technologies, and terrorism.
Protecting Greece's external borders and tackling cross-border crime remain a central goal.
"Greece is a safe country," Mr. Chrysochoidis said. Mr. Law added, "It's also a very beautiful country."
The meeting came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the sixth Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue in Athens.
Greece joined the Visa Waiver Program in 2010. Last October, Washington permanently exempted Greece from the program's annual review, citing its compliance with travel obligations.
Also attending were Greek police chief Lt. Gen. Dimitrios Mallios and senior officers from organized-crime and police-cooperation units.
The U.S. delegation included Deputy Under Secretary John Gountanis and Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Nicholas Kikis, along with U.S. Embassy officials.