Deputy Mister Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis attended the informal meeting of Foreign Affairs/Trade Council (FAC/Trade) held in Valencia on Friday, October 20, 2023, under the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
The topics discussed include the EU's Economic Security Strategy, progress in the EU-India trade negotiations, as well as current developments in the EU's bilateral trade negotiations with third countries, with an emphasis on Latin American countries (Mercosur, Chile, Mexico).
In their interventions the participating officials emphasized the significance of safeguarding the European economy's competitiveness and resilience. In this regard, they underlined the need to continuously deepen and broaden the EU's economic and trade relations and cooperation with reliable partners.
On his part, Deputy Minister Fragogiannis underscored the importance of extroversion as a feature that makes an economy competitive and resilient. Regarding EU-India relations, Mr. Fragogiannis conveyed Greece's strong support for the negotiations with India, noting that the three proposed agreements are politically and economically critical, particularly in the current geopolitical context, as they contribute to the EU's goal of diversifying export markets and supply chains.
The long-awaited free trade agreements with our partners in Latin America also serve the same goal, the Deputy Minister stated, expressing Greece's support for the signing of the agreements that are being worked on.
October 21, 2023