Article by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness K. Fragogiannis in the “Naftemporiki” newspaper (11.01.2022)

At the beginning of a new year, during which the pandemic is expected to continue to constitute a challenge for the entire planet, the country’s foreign policy follows with consistency and continuity the dynamic course it steered during a difficult globally 2021.

Adhering to the strategy of intensifying our contacts with our partners along the Balkans – Middle East – Gulf region axis, in less than a month we will be travelling, together with a large delegation of Greek businesses, to the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, to discuss further business cooperation and investment opportunities.

It is a targeted trip, which we have been planning for a long time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the organizational supervision of the General Secretariat for International Economic Relations and the executive branch of the Ministry on issues of extroversion, Enterprise Greece, with the valuable assistance and participation of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises and the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Following the successive visits of the Prime Minister, whom I had the honour to accompany, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, and in conjunction with the reciprocal visits of Saudi officials, the most recent being that of the Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih to our country, our bilateral contacts are at an advanced stage and the conditions are ripe for the promotion and deepening of political and business relations between the two countries.

During our two-day stay in Riyadh, all-day B2B business meetings are scheduled to be held, as well as a series of working meetings with the Ministers of Investment, Trade, Foreign Affairs, Energy, Culture, Tourism and the head of the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

More specifically, discussions will focus mainly on:
a) the promotion of cooperation in the energy field by attracting investments from Saudi Arabia to Greece on green energy and renewable sources, with the aim of facilitating the energy transition of our country. This includes bilateral talks that could even result in bilateral cooperation in the development and exploitation of green hydrogen production technologies (via electrolysis of energy from renewable sources) and blue hydrogen (through methane processing).
b) cooperation in the tourism sector, both by attracting investments in mature projects in our country and by engaging Greek businesses in Saudi Arabia’s tourism development programs as foreseen in the emblematic Vision 2030 program. Included in the agenda of discussions are also the exchange of know-how and the exploration of possibilities of exploiting the complementary tourist seasons of the two countries.
c) digital interconnectivity, as further cooperation between the two countries will be examined in the framework of the emblematic South-East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe 3 (Sea-Me-We3 / SMW3) digital interconnection program, through a high speed and high capacity submarine optical cable that will connect 39 cable landing stations in 33 countries. It is obvious that with this project, Greece is becoming a regional digital hub and the gateway to the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Furthermore, the agenda will also include cooperation in the agricultural sector, a pole of attraction for investments that could benefit Saudi Arabia’s food security, synergies in the fields of technology and innovation and, of course, cooperation in maritime policy, which is crucial for the cooperation of the two countries in the fields of energy and tourism, as well as for the development of our trade flows.

In addition, during our stay in Riyadh, the newly established Greece – Saudi Arabia Business Council will convene for the first time. It is an instrument developed precisely to facilitate economic cooperation between the two countries, and yet another testament of the political will and “momentum” that exists to deepen this economic cooperation. Also, during contacts with the competent Ministers and heads of bodies of the friendly country, issues of development of the appropriate financial tools for the facilitation of investment flows in targeted areas of common interest will be examined.

With our presence in Riyadh, we aim not only to secure investments in Greece, but also to create the conditions for Greek businesses to operate in a dynamic and growing economy, such as Saudi Arabia. Greece can become a hub for energy transfer from the Gulf region to Europe, but also a bridge between the Arab world and the European continent. This will be our message during the upcoming mission to Riyadh, which we aspire to lay the foundations for a productive inter-ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Athens in May 2022.