Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis met with the Secretary of State for Internationalization of Portugal, Eurico Brilhante Dias, to discuss economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries.
During the meeting, which took place in an very friendly atmosphere, the topics discussed included the further enhancement of bilateral relations, aiming at addressing the impact of the pandemic and promoting mutually beneficial trade and economic initiatives, particularly in the fields of tourism and the maritime economy. Particular emphasis was placed on attracting new investments from Portugal to Greece, given the presence of Portuguese enterprises in the Greek market, which has already proved successful. The Deputy Minister and the Secretary of State then attended the online event titled ‘Discover Portugal’, held in the context of the formal visit.
During his address, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the need for coordinated action and increased cooperation between European countries in the effort to foster sustainable growth in order to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic. The event was organised by ‘Enterprise Greece’, the Portuguese Embassy to Athens and the Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency AICEP (Portugal Global). The event took place with the participation of 45 Greek companies and institutional bodies from Greece.
Referring to the major steps Greece took over the last decade by implementing an ambitious reform programme, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs underlined that our country is reorienting itself towards global markets, attracting foreign investments and pushing the effort of Greek enterprises to expand abroad, creating added value through new products, services and innovation. He also referred to the further structural reforms the government has scheduled for the coming years, aiming at the complete modernisation of the Greek economy and the country's public institutions which, as he explained, have attracted remarkable interest on the part of investors from around the world in numerous areas such as energy, technology and tourism. He cited the example of the reconstruction of Hellinikon, an enormous construction project valued at EUR 8 billion, one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in Europe, as he stated.
In this context, he called on the Portuguese side to carefully examine investment opportunities arising in a number of privatisation and infrastructure projects currently underway in Greece. “We would love to see more Portuguese capital invested in the Greek economy, and will do our very best to facilitate this”, stressed Mr Fragogiannis. He made special reference to tourism and the prospects for increasing trade between the two countries, starting with Greek food products which, in his words, are renowned for their quality.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs also referred to the bilateral Agreement on Tourist Cooperation and the Memorandum for Economic Cooperation, which were signed in 2018 and are expected to lead to further progress in bilateral economic and trade relations after the pandemic.
October 1, 2020