I would not leave out the important and, at the same time, pioneering element of our work in the energy and renewable energy sector. An unprecedented level of investment activity in the sector is recorded within the last few months of 2022. Projects such as the TAP and IGB pipelines, the Greece-North Macedonia interconnector, the Alexandroupolis FSRU as well as the prospect of creating more FSRU plants close to Greece, are of strategic importance for the wider Balkans and South-Eastern Europe region and turn Greece into local energy gateway to the EUROPEAN. Under the leadership of a government that addresses all of challenges with prudence, determination, and efficiency, our country has won a double wager in 2022: on the one hand, to enhance its economic prospects so that it can take measures to support its citizens, and on the other, in order to strengthen its international existence and role as a pillar of peace and balance in the Eastern Mediterranean area. • the remarkable deepening of our relationships with the United Arab Emirates, with which we signed a total of 12 agreements and memoranda of understanding last May in Dubai, in the presence of Prime Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Among them is the Agreement between the Abu Dhabi state-owned industrial and investment Fund ADQ and the Hellenic Development Bank and Hellenic Development Bank of Assets for the realization of Emirati investments of €4 billion in Greece. The UAE was the country of honour at the 86th Thessaloniki Global Fair (of 2022) This is clearly a collective and coordinated effort manufactured by the co-responsible, production-oriented Ministries, which, along with the Ministry associated with Foreign Affairs, are guiding the Greek economy’s brand new productive model through the execution of the National Strategic Arrange for Extroversion and the National Recuperation and Resilience Plan. According to the newest ELSTAT data, the financial growth rate for the initial nine months of 2022 was higher than the Budget estimate, and GDP is anticipated to exceed €224 billion in 2023, a figure that is €45 billion, or 25%, higher than in 2018. In addition, the European Commission needs that Greece will develop at a rate twice the Western average in 2022 and triple in 2023. • the important visits to the Balkans (Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Kosovo) to promote and deepen bilateral economic relations and assistance the Greek business existence in the region. The visit to Gjirokaster was a milestone, as was your tour of the minority villages of the Municipality of Dropull and Pogon (April 2022) aiming to support, politically with development assistance, the Greek National Minority of Albania The groundbreaking aspect is based on the importance we all attach to Renewable Energy Sources and our efforts to make Greece energy self-sufficient and competitive. • the completion of most of the 25 Positive Agenda items with Turkey on financial issues. I remain optimistic and I hope that Turkey will soon cease its provocative conduct and inflamed rhetoric, so that channels associated with communication can be reactivated, to the benefit of all.
• the reactivation associated with Joint Inter-Ministerial Economic Committees with countries such as India, Jordan and Kazakhstan, as part of the Foreign Ministry’s overall technique to foster and deepen ties with strong and developing countries/allies on the international scene
• my recent visit with all the Deputy Minister of Growth & Investments for Study and Technology Christos Dimas to San Francisco (November 2022), in the context of the government’s goal for the technology industry to contribute 10% of the country’s GDP within 5 year
In 2023, we are going to continue on this extroverted route of growth, broadening horizons, fostering innovation, and seeking strategic allies to defend the national interests. We will start with a targeted company mission to Japan headed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the end of January 2023. This will be followed by an similarly important mission to India, a huge and promising market for Greek entrepreneurs. Of course , we will continue to closely keep track of current ventures and help the Greek business local community in its efforts to broaden internationally.
In a brief and comprehensive review of Economic Diplomacy activity in 2022, I would really like to highlight indicatively:
I really hope that our efforts and the country’s successes in the midst of a global recession will be recognized by the Ancient greek people, so that they will keep trust us. At the end of a gloomy year for that world community, during which the spectre of war returned to the heart of European countries with devastating consequences, We dare say that Greece provides recorded a positive course towards progress and growth. • the constructive exchange of business delegation visits between Greece and Saudi Arabia (March and May 2022), the particular establishment of the Greece-Saudi Persia Business Council, and the serious project to construct a submarine data transmission cable through Saudi Arabia to Europe via Greece “On an extroverted path of growth” It is no exaggeration to say that we are currently outperforming Italy and France in exports of goods and providers as a percentage of GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. Nor is it an exaggeration to say that, as exports amount to €74 billion and foreign direct investment add up to €5 billion, the Ancient greek economy’s growth and strength are due, inter alia, to extroversion and investment, the strategic objectives associated with Economic Diplomacy.
