2nd Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Forum Greece – United Arad Emirates (23.07.2020)
Four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and one Joint Action Program were signed between Greece and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) during the 2nd Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Forum of the two countries, held on the 23rd of July 2020. The Forum was jointly chaired by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, U.A.E.'s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Adonis Georgiadis, Greece’s Minister of Development and Investments.
The Forum and the signing of the agreements come as a result of the visit of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Abu Dhabi and the 1st Greece-U.A.E. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Forum, which took place in February 2020. They also underline the strengthening of the countries’ bilateral relations and the Emiratis’ strong investment interest in Greece.
More specifically, 4 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and 1 Joint Action Program were signed in the following areas:
1. Small and Medium Enterprises, signed by the Minister of Development and Investments, Adonis Georgiadis, and the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Dr. Ahmed Belhoul, aiming at promoting joint actions in the field of SMEs, with an emphasis on innovative entrepreneurship and start-ups, and at encouraging increased collaboration between the public and private sectors.
2. International Development Cooperation, signed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy, Kostas Fragkogiannis, and the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimi, reflecting the will of the two countries to take joint humanitarian action in high-priority developing countries for the promotion of their common goals.
3. Cultural and Creative Industries, signed by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni and the Minister of Culture and Youth, Noura Al Kaabi, constitutes the first MoU signed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports in this area and foresees for the exchange of know-how and best practices between the two countries.
4. Digital Cooperation, signed by the Minister of Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, Ohud AlRoumi, with the aim of strengthening the dialogue between the two countries regarding the digital services of the public sector, artificial intelligence, 'smart' services and the strategic design of digital policy with the help of useful tools (government accelerators).
5. Tourism for the period 2020-2022, signed by the Minister of Tourism, Haris Theocharis and the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, with the aim of exchanging know-how in the fields of tourism marketing and promotion, the development of Special Interest Tourism, as well as the promotion of tourism investments.
The online Forum included the following six working sessions, in which actions to strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as possible investment projects were discussed:
1. Political Cooperation and International Humanitarian Development, in which high ranking officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Embassies of the two countries as well as a representative of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development participated.
2. Trade, Investments and Tourism, in which the Greek side participated with the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments, Nikolaos Papathanasis, the Secretary General for International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gregory Dimitriadis, the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minster, Alex Patelis, officials from the Ministries of Finance and Tourism, the CEO of Enterprise Greece, Giorgos Filiopoulos, the President and CEO of the Hellenic Development Bank, Athina Chatzipetrou, and the Director of Investments at the HRDH, Sonia Babili, while on the UAE side participated representatives of the Ministries of State, Economy and Tourism, as well as executives from the Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company, Eagle Hills, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Khalifa Fund, ADNOC and ADFD.
3. Culture, which included the General Secretary of Culture, George Didaskalou and officials of the Ministry of Culture and Sports on the Greek side, while on the UAE side participated the Undersecretary of Culture and Knowledge Development, Mubarak Al Nakhi, and officials of the Ministries of State and Culture and Knowledge Development.
4. Energy, which on the Greek side included high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives of HRADF and ELPE, while officials of the Ministry of State, MASDAR and Mubadala Petroleum attended on the U.A.E. side.
5. Digital Governance, in which the Secretary General of Digital Governance and Simplification of Procedures, Leonidas Christopoulos represented the Greek side, while the UAE side featured high-ranking officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of the Minister of State.
6. Agriculture, in which the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Konstantinos Skrekas, the Secretary General of Agricultural Policy, Konstantinos Baginetas, as well as officials of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food participated on the Greek side, while the Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Sultan Al Hebsi, officials of the Ministry of State, as well as executives from the companies Al Dahra and Elite Argo represented the U.A.E. side.
In parallel with the working sessions, bilateral meetings were held on issues of mutual interest between:
i. The Minister of Development and Investments, Adonis Georgiadis, the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minster, Alex Patelis and the Secretary General of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gregory Dimitriadis and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
ii. The Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Eleni Sourani and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
iii. The Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostis Hatzidakis and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
iv. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy, Kostas Fragkogiannis and the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimi.
v. The Minister of Health, Vassilis Kikilias and the Minister of Health, Abdulrahman Al Owais.
vi. The Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, and the Minister of Culture and Youth, Noura Al Kaabi.
vii. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy, Kostas Fragkogiannis, the Secretary General of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gregory Dimitriadis and the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi.
In their closing remarks, the Minister of Development and Investments Mr. Georgiadis and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, underlined the progress that has been made in the bilateral relations of Greece and the U.A.E., pledging to further strengthen the relations between the two countries.
July 24, 2020