The Head of Task Force for the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Maria Theofili addressed (April 28) the 3rd International Conference on Maritime Security, an annual event bringing together leading policymakers, senior military officials, industry executives, and academic experts to address the most pressing challenges facing the global maritime domain.
Maritime security is one of the six central priorities of Greece’s term on the UN Security Council (2025–2026). The importance the country attributes to maritime security is linked to Greece’s identity as a global maritime power and the critical role the sea plays in international peace and the economy.
In this regard, the Ambassador underscored the Foreign Ministry’s ascending role, drawing attention to the action-driven initiatives it has championed within esteemed international organizations, such as the United Nations Security Council:
- Starting with the rotating Presidency Greece assumed in May 2025, the Ambassador highlighted the messages the Greek Prime Minister conveyed to the international community, when he spoke in the presence of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres on the significance of safeguarding maritime security, as an essential component of global stability. Moreover, in an effort to keep the spotlight on such a crucial issue for international peace and security, Greece cosponsored and contributed to a variety of high-level discussions and meetings, thus stirring up interest on the protection of maritime routes, while raising awareness on the financial toll disruption takes on international trade. At the same time, Greece succeeded in shedding light to other equally important, however often overlooked aspects of the maritime security, such as the protection and wellbeing of the shipping industry’s manpower, the seafarers.
- Similarly, the Ambassador elaborated on the successful attempts of Greece to promote relevant Resolutions through co-penholderships with countries with which Greece shares an expertise on the issue of maritime security. The Resolutions championed freedom of navigation, restriction of piracy and clamping down on illicit trade in troubled parts of the world such as the Red Sea, Libya and the Hormuz Straits, all under the UN umbrella. Addressing the Security Council on a number of occasions, the Greek Foreign Minister argued in favour of empowering the UNSC to do more on these subjects.
- Furthermore, Ambassador Theofili highlighted Greece’s pivotal contribution to the protection of freedom of navigation through international naval missions, such as Operations ASPIDES, IRINI and ATALANTA.
- Finally, the speaker emphasized Greece’s “commitment to underscoring the central role of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)” adding that maritime security will continue to top the agenda and Greece remains poised to contribute to its advancement.