Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness’ visit to Sweden (12-14. 05. 2022)

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis attended the inauguration of the Hellenic-Swedish Chamber of Commerce Stockholm branch during his working visit to the Swedish capital from 12 to 14 May.

“The Swedish branch of the Hellenic-Swedish Chamber resulted from the need to create an institution, which will be a reference point for Greek entrepreneurs who want to develop trade relations with Sweden or to operate in this country. With a dynamic presence in Greece, the representation will have a multiplier effect and will function as a springboard for the creation of new bilateral economic – and other – ties “, noted in his address Mr. Fragogiannis, who at the opening ceremony tied the ribbon in the colors of the two countries as a symbolic gesture.
The inauguration event was attended by the President of the Hellenic-Swedish Chamber Ms. Ourania Patsiopoulou, the President of the Swedish representation, Mr. Marcus Pettersson, as well as the Ambassador Ms. Charlotte Sammelin, Head of Department for International Trade and the EU Single Market and former Ambassador of Sweden to Greece.

Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Trade

On Friday, May 13, the Deputy Minister met with Ms Anna Hallberg, Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs.

During the meeting, there was an overview of the bilateral trade relations between the two countries and the prospects for their promotion, while the potential of investment opportunities in Greece in the fields of energy, innovation and technology was assessed.

The geopolitical situation and the effects on Europe’s energy self-sufficiency were also assessed, while the new potential that our country acquires as an energy hub with the investment of FSRU in Alexandroupolis was presented.

Visit to the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise

Mr. Fragogiannis also visited the offices of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) where he met with CEO Jan-Olof Jacke.

The main focus of the meeting was to explore business cooperation opportunities in areas of common interest, to promote Greece as an investment destination to the members of the Confederation, as well as to explore cooperation with relevant Greek bodies.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) is the largest and most important business association in Sweden. It represents 49 organizations and 60,000 companies with more than 1.6 million employees.

Visit to the Business Sweden premises

The Deputy Minister also met with Vice President of “Business Sweden”, responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Nina Lindberg.

Talks focused on exploring the possibility of making use of best practices, as well as the cooperation with Enterprise Greece. Business Sweden is jointly owned by the Swedish state and the Swedish business sector with a mandate and a mission to help in both the attraction and implementation of Foreign Direct Investment and the Extroversion of Swedish Companies.

Visit to the Northvolt’s premises

One of the biggest projects to accelerate the green transition in Sweden was presented by the heads of Northvolt to Deputy Minister Fragogiannis at the company’s headquarters in Stockholm.

Northvolt is a manufacturer of high-performance lithium-ion battery components which has recently completed the construction of a “gigafactory” in Northern Sweden (Skellefteå), which in its final form is expected to cover an area of 500,000 square meters, employ over 3,000 people and use 300 robots, consuming exclusively green energy.

Northvolt is already planning with Volvo the construction of a second “gigafactory” in Gothenburg, while it has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the state of Schleswig-Holstein for a third “gigafactory” in Germany.

During the meeting, Northvolt executives made a presentation on the business model and the company’s prospects for the future. Mr. Fragogiannis presented the investment opportunities for major innovation projects in our country, while there was a thorough presentation of the incentives for foreign direct investment drawn up by the Greek government in the lignite phase-out areas. A special discussion was held on the “Astypalea Smart and Sustainable Island” project as well as on the GR-eco Islands.

Visit to the Municipality of Solna

The Mayor of the city Solna, Mr. Pehr Granfalk Solna had the opportunity to present the investment and business achievements of his Municipality to the Deputy Minister, during Mr. Fragogiannis’ last meeting before returning to Athens.

The Municipality of Solna constitutes a role model for its development, within twenty years, and its transformation from a marginal Municipality to one of the largest urban centers of business and investment activity in Stockholm, attracting large companies such as Scandinavian Airlines, Skanska, NextJet, Vattenfall , Telia, ICA etc. but also major organizations such as the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).