On March 9, the Head of Task Force for the UNSC, Ambassador Maria Theofili, welcomed Shu Tamaura, the Director of the Second Europe Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, to Athens.
Discussions touched upon bilateral cooperation within the United Nations, with a clear focus on the freedom of navigation. For both countries, maritime security is a fundamental pillar of international peace and security. Similarly, both countries champion adherence to the International Law of the Sea and depend on maritime routes for their financial prosperity. As two of the world’s premier maritime nations, boasting vast coastlines, Greece and Japan share a deeply aligned vision regarding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Strategic alignment in this field of policy-making is not new to these two countries; Their cooperation within international organizations—most notably the UN Security Council and the International Maritime Organization -is designed to project their shared maritime values onto the global stage.
A defining example of this collaboration was the Arria-formula meeting held in November 2025 within the framework of the United Nations Security Council, specifically focusing on “Maritime Safety and Security: Protection of Seafarers.”