Athens, 11 November 2009

Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Spyros Kouvelis took part in a working luncheon hosted by the President of the Greek-African Chamber of Commerce and Development, Mr. S. Moussouris, for Ambassadors of African states accredited to Greece. Mr. Kouvelis mentioned the dynamic economic and development cooperation, as well as the capitalization of the Greek presence in Africa and the African community in Greece, which – as he pointed out – will be at the heart of Greece’s economic diplomacy priorities for the African continent.

He stated: “Our country’s cooperation with Africa falls short of the existing potential, and the degree to which it has developed so far is mostly due to the Greek entrepreneurs”, adding that “we must look into new ways of promoting cooperation.”

Particularly with regard to development cooperation, he stressed that Greece allocated €110 million over the past ten years, but it is not a question of providing inexhaustible budgets. He stressed: “What matters is for the money allocated to achieve the targets, which should firstly prioritise the development of the peoples of Africa and, secondly, promote Greece’s image as a development power.

Mr. Kouvelis also spoke of the great significance of the Greek diaspora in Africa, which is present everywhere: “the true ambassadors of Greece” as he pointed out, stressing that “my top priority is to meet with Greek people on my travels.” He also mentioned the need to make the most of the creative spirit of the African community in Greece and in closing, he stressed: “my door will always be open for all of you and we must work all together.”

The event was also attended by eight diplomatic delegations and 40 businesspeople. Among the diplomatic delegations present at the event were those of Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Angola, Ethiopia, and Algeria.