Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Kostas Fragkogiannis, underlined the prospects of strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between Greece and Vietnam during his opening speech at the Greece-Vietnam Business Forum which took place on Tuesday, November 2, in Athens, at the “Hotel Grande Bretagne”, in the presence of the Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ms Vo Thi Anh Xuan.
Aiming to connect the business communities of Greece and Vietnam, this year’s Forum is the third similar event. The previous one was held in Hanoi, in 2018, on the occasion of a delegation of 16 Greek businesses visiting the Asian country organized by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Panhellenic Exporters Association, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In his speech, the Deputy Minister referred to the strengthening of economic relations between Greece and Vietnam, especially after the entry into force, in 2020, of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. He also stressed that the establishment of an Honorary Consular Office of Vietnam in Piraeus, this past June, is another indication of the excellent relations between the two countries as well as of the intention to use one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, in a mutually beneficial way.
Regarding the areas offering the best opportunities for cooperation, Mr. Fragkogiannis identified shipping, agricultural products, infrastructure and energy, with an emphasis on the integration of innovative technologies.
Finally, the Deputy Minister called on Vietnamese businessmen to engage more actively with the Greek market and strengthen their cooperation with Greek businessmen, so that they have the opportunity to see for themselves how much the business climate has improved in Greece, as a result of the reforms that the Greek government has implemented.