The 6th Meeting of the Enterprise Greece Extroversion Council was held, on September 6, 2024, at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Conference Centre, chaired by Dimitris Skalkos, Secretary General for International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of Enterprise Greece, with the participation of Kostas Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness. The Deputy Minister of Macedonia - Thrace, Konstantinos Gioulekas, and the Vice Governor for Extroversion of Central Macedonia – Thrace Region, Branislav (Bane) Prelevic, also attended the Extroversion Council ’s proceedings.
In his address, Mr. Fragogiannis welcomed Mr. Skalkos to the Extroversion Council and referred to the successful business mission to Pristina, while he expressed his satisfaction as several members of the mission were present at the meeting. Lastly, he cited the Council's three primary objectives:
α. Increasing the frequency of meetings. It is noted that it has now been established to hold one meeting per quarter
b. Expanding the Council by establishing Regional Offices for Extraversion to address a significant information gap
c. Timely drawing up the 2025 National Strategic Plan for Extroversion which is important to be completed and published by the end of the year.
Subsequently, Mr. Skalkos announced the establishment of the first Extroversion Office, which will be launched on a pilot basis in the Region of Central Macedonia, with the prospect of soon being implemented in all regions of the country. This initiative is carried out within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the General Secretariat for International Economic Affairs and Openness and the Association of Greek Regions, signed in 2022, and is part of the Economic Diplomacy and Openness pillar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Strategy.
It involves the establishment of a mechanism connecting the country’s Regions with the specialized services provided by the Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices of the Embassies as well as by the supervised entities Enterprise Greece and Export Credit Greece. The regional Extroversion Offices are expected to further enhance coordination, two-way information, and synergies with the Regions, Chambers of Commerce, and business associations so as to promote exports and attract investments.
Mr. Skalkos underscored the significance of the National Strategic Plan for Extroversion, enacted in 2021 as a main tool for coordinating between public and private sectors. He also emphasized the necessity of extroversion for the sustainable growth of the Greek economy, particularly in the current unstable geopolitical environment. In this regard, it was underlined that 110 entities, including business associations, Chambers of Commerce, and Regions, had already responded positively to this initiative by July 2023.
The Secretary General for International Economic Affairs referred to the long-lasting excellent cooperation with the productive bodies as well as to their fruitful proposals in the joint effort to enhance extroversion. Lastly, he thanked the involved parties for their strong interest in participating in drawing up the 2025 National Strategic Plan for Extroversion, which is expected to be completed within this year.
September 10, 2024