Article by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs K. Fragogiannis in the special edition of “To Vima tis Kiriakis” newspaper (25.12.2022)

“On an extroverted path of growth”

At the end of a gloomy year for the world community, during which the spectre of war returned to the heart of Europe with devastating consequences, I dare say that Greece has recorded a positive course towards progress and growth.

Under the leadership of a government that addresses all 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, to strengthen its international presence and role as a pillar of peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

According to the latest ELSTAT data, the economic growth rate for the first nine months of 2022 was higher than the Budget estimate, and GDP is expected to exceed €224 billion in 2023, a figure that is €45 billion, or 25%, higher than in 2018. Furthermore, the European Commission expects that Greece will grow at a rate twice the European average in 2022 and triple in 2023.

It is no exaggeration to say that we are currently outperforming Italy and France in exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP. Nor is it an exaggeration to say that, as exports amount to €74 billion and foreign direct investment amount to €5 billion, the Greek economy’s growth and resilience are due, inter alia, to extroversion and investment, the strategic objectives of Economic Diplomacy.

This is clearly a collective and coordinated effort made 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 Plan for Extroversion and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In a brief and comprehensive review of Economic Diplomacy activity in 2022, I would like to highlight indicatively:

•    the constructive exchange of business delegation visits between Greece and Saudi Arabia (March and May 2022), the establishment of the Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Council, and the ambitious project to construct a submarine data transmission cable from Saudi Arabia to Europe via Greece

•    the remarkable deepening of our relations 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 Minister 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 Investments for the realization of Emirati investments of €4 billion in Greece. The UAE was the country of honour at the 86th Thessaloniki International Fair (of 2022)

•    my recent visit with the Deputy Minister of Development & 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 five year

•    the important visits to the Balkans (Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Kosovo) to promote and deepen bilateral economic relations and support the Greek business presence in the region. The visit to Gjirokaster was a milestone, as was the tour of the minority villages of the Municipality of  Dropull and Pogon (April 2022) aiming to support, politically and with development assistance, the Greek National Minority of Albania

•    the reactivation of Joint Inter-Ministerial Economic Committees with countries such as India, Jordan and Kazakhstan, as part of the Foreign Ministry’s overall strategy to foster and deepen ties with strong and developing countries/allies on the international scene

•    the completion of the majority of the 25 Positive Agenda items with Turkey on economic issues. I remain optimistic and I hope that Turkey will soon cease its provocative conduct and inflammatory rhetoric, so that channels of communication can be reactivated, to the benefit of all.

I would not leave out the crucial and, at the same time, pioneering aspect of our work in the energy and renewable energy sector. An unprecedented level of investment activity in the sector is recorded in 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 developing more FSRU plants around Greece, are of strategic importance for the wider Balkans and South-Eastern Europe region and turn Greece into regional energy gateway to the EU.

The pioneering aspect is based on the importance we attach to Renewable Energy Sources and our efforts to make Greece energy self-sufficient and competitive.

In 2023, we will 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 business 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 monitor current ventures and assist the Greek business community in its efforts to expand internationally.

I hope that our efforts and the country’s successes in the midst of a global economic crisis will be recognized by the Greek people, so that they will continue to trust us.