The US President also pledged to help the Mediterreanean nation back to prosperity following a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
The two leaders met at the White House for cordial talks that were a far cry from last year’s presidential campaign, when Mr Tsipras described the prospect of the then-Republican candidate winning the election as “evil”.
Standing alongside the Greek Prime Minister after their meeting, Mr Trump said: “The American people stand with the Greek people as they recover from the economic crisis that recently afflicted their nation.
“A strong and flourishing Greece provides immense opportunity for American trade, investment and job creation.”
The President said he had spoken to his Greek counterpart about a potential $2.4 billion to upgrade F-16 aircraft in Greece’s Air Force.
The US State Department approved the possible sale on Monday, and Mr Trump said his administration had informed Cogress of the potential sale.
The President also praised Athens for being among the few NATO members to spend at least two per cent of gross domestic product on defence, something he was repeatedly criticised other nations for failing to do.
Those comments have been seen as an attempt by Mr Trump to forge a strong allience with a fellow NATO member at a time when US relations with Turkey crumble.
Mr Trump even laughed off Mr Tsipras’ earlier negative comments about him being “evil”, joking: “I wish I knew that before my speech.”
Mr Tsipras psaid he was “very optimistic” about the future releationship between Athens and Washington.
“Don’t forget that the value of democracy and freedom was born in Greece,” he said.
“It’s one of the values that traverses American culture and American tradition. The President now continues that tradition.”
Greece is now on the path to economic recovery after eight years of Eurozone bailouts and sweeping austerity measures.
In the summer, Athens approved an application to drill for oil and gas off the coast of Crete from a consortium featuring US petroleum giants ExxonMobil, alongside Total, and Hellenic Petroleum.
Mr Trump, who once said trying to save Greece from financial ruin inside th eEuro was “a waste of time” today said the nation was “doing a terrific job of coming back.”