A full-day Greek-Saudi Business Forum was held today at the Intercontinental Hotel in the context of the visit of a large business delegation from Saudi Arabia, with the participation of Ministers, government representatives and entrepreneurs from both countries.
The Forum, organized by Enterprise Greece, was structured around the four sectors with the greatest potential for cooperation and investment attraction: a) Tourism, b) Energy/Construction/Infrastructure, c) Innovation and d) Agri-food.
The Forum was inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Kostas Fragogiannis, who expressed his personal commitment to promoting and deepening bilateral economic and trade relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Fragogiannis made mention of the impressive development of Greek-Saudi relations over the past 2.5 years, noting that "Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Saudi Arabia just last October was an opportunity to celebrate bonds of friendship and cooperation that are not restricted to politics". The Deputy Minister specifically mentioned three milestones in bilateral relations. The first milestone was the agreement signed by Greece and Saudi Arabia in London last December to strengthen maritime relations between the two countries. Second, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Enterprise Greece and the Saudi Arabian National Companies Promotion Programme, which took place in September in Athens. Third, the establishment of the Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Council in the same month. "We are still working on the completion of the bilateral Investment Treaty, which will have to be submitted to our counterparts in the EU, as part of the obligations we have as a member of the European Union”, Mr. Fragogiannis added.
Regarding the Greek-Saudi Arabian Business Forum, the Deputy Minister noted that its organization, two months following the corresponding Forum in Riyadh, confirms the willingness of the two sides - both at the level of political leadership and the business community - to implement their commitments and move forward to agreements and cooperation.
Mr. Fragogiannis also mentioned the series of high-level bilateral governmental meetings scheduled in parallel with the Forum - between Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih and the Ministers of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis, Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, and Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis - which confirm the excellent climate of relations and give new impetus to the prospects for cooperation.
Mr. Fragogiannis concluded his address by expressing his pleasure to meet again with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih, emphasizing that "Greece and Saudi Arabia share many common areas of interest. The journey continues”.
In his remarks, the Secretary General of International Economic Affairs and Openness and President of Enterprise Greece, Ioannis Smyrlis, underscored that: "The ties of friendship and strategic cooperation between the two countries continue to grow steadily in areas such as investment, trade, shipping, tourism, agri-food, energy, construction and innovation". "Today's forum demonstrates our commitment to work closely together and further strengthen bilateral economic relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia, while confirming the scope of the potential for further expansion of our cooperation", the Secretary General added.
Following the conclusion of the Forum, more than 200 B2B meetings were held between representatives of the fifty-nine (59) Saudi companies participating in the business mission and the approximately one hundred (100) Greek enterprises.
May 30, 2022