• my recent visit using the Deputy Minister of Advancement & Investments for Research and Technology Christos Dimas to San Francisco (November 2022), in the context of the government’s goal for the technology sector to contribute 10% of the country’s GDP within 5 year Under the leadership of a government that addresses just about all challenges with prudence, determination, and efficiency, our country has won a double bet in 2022: on the one hand, to enhance its economic prospects in order that it can take measures to support the citizens, and on the other, to strengthen its international presence and role as a pillar of peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region. • the constructive exchange associated with business delegation visits among Greece and Saudi Persia (March and May 2022), the particular establishment of the Greece-Saudi Persia Business Council, and the focused project to construct a submarine data transmission cable through Saudi Arabia to European countries via Greece It is no exaggeration to say that we are currently outperforming Italy and France within exports of goods and services 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 figure to €5 billion, the Ancient greek economy’s growth and resilience are due, inter alia, to extroversion and expenditure, the strategic objectives associated with Economic Diplomacy. • the completion of the majority of the 25 Positive Agenda products with Turkey on economic issues. I remain optimistic and I hope that Turkey will soon cease the provocative conduct and inflamed rhetoric, so that channels of communication can be reactivated, towards the benefit of all. • the reactivation of Joint Inter-Ministerial Economic Committees with countries such as India, Jordan and Kazakhstan, included in the Foreign Ministry’s overall strategy to foster and deepen ties with strong and building countries/allies on the international scene “On an extroverted path of growth” This is clearly a collective and coordinated effort created by the co-responsible, production-oriented Ministries, which, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are guiding the Greek economy’s new productive model through the implementation of the National Strategic Arrange for Extroversion and the National Recuperation and Resilience Plan.
The groundbreaking aspect is based on the importance all of us attach to Renewable Energy Sources and our own efforts to make Greece power self-sufficient and competitive.
In late a gloomy year for that world community, during which the particular spectre of war came back to the heart of European countries with devastating consequences, I actually dare say that Greece has recorded a positive course towards progress and growth.
• the important appointments to the Balkans (Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Kosovo) to promote and deepen bilateral economic relations and support 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 along with development assistance, the Ancient greek National Minority of Albania
I would not leave out the crucial and, at the same time, pioneering element of our work in the energy plus renewable energy sector. An unprecedented level of investment activity in the sector is recorded in the last few months of 2022. Tasks such as the TAP and IGB pipelines, the Greece-North Macedonia interconnector, the Alexandroupolis FSRU as well as the prospect of establishing more FSRU plants around Greece, are of proper importance for the wider Balkans and South-Eastern Europe region and turn Greece into local energy gateway to the EUROPEAN UNION.
I really hope that our efforts and the nation’s successes in the midst of a global financial crisis will be recognized by the Ancient greek people, so that they will keep trust us. In a brief and comprehensive review of Economic Diplomacy activity in 2022, I would really prefer to highlight indicatively: According to the latest ELSTAT data, the economic growth rate for the first nine months of 2022 was higher than the Budget estimation, and GDP is anticipated to exceed €224 billion in 2023, a figure which is €45 billion, or 25%, higher than in 2018. Moreover, the European Commission expects that Greece will grow at a rate twice the Western average in 2022 and triple in 2023. In 2023, we are going to continue on this extroverted path of growth, broadening horizons, fostering innovation, and seeking strategic allies to defend our 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 equally 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 support the Greek business local community in its efforts to broaden internationally. • the particular remarkable deepening of our relationships with the United Arab Emirates, with which we signed a total of 12 agreements and memoranda of understanding final May in Dubai, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Among them will be the Agreement between the Abu Dhabi state-owned industrial and expenditure Fund ADQ and the Hellenic Development Bank and Hellenic Development Bank of Opportunities for the realization of Emirati investments of €4 billion dollars in Greece. The UAE was the country of honour at the 86th Thessaloniki Global Fair (of 2022)
