The Greek-Saudi Business Forum begins in Athens as Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kostas Fragogiannis and Secretary General Yannis Smyrlis will welcome a significant business delegation from Saudi Arabia to Greece on Sunday, May 29, 2022.
The visit is part of Greece’s efforts to build and deepen economic and business ties with Saudi Arabia.
According to a recent announcement issued by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
“The Saudi delegation will be headed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, ΗE Khalid Al Faleh, accompanied by eight Deputy Ministers from the Saudi Government as well as high-ranking officials from the Ministries of Investment, Energy, Environment, Tourism, Health, Science and Technology, Social Development, Transport, Communications, and Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance.
The Saudi government delegation is accompanied by representatives from fifty-nine (59) Saudi companies from the banking and finance, energy, tourism, construction, health and agri-food sectors.
The first day of the delegation’s visit will include a tour of Santorini, where special flights from Saudi Arabia will arrive, in order to visit a popular tourist destination in Greece for the transfer of relevant know-how.
A similar visit with emphasis on touristic development had been organized by the Saudi side to the historic city of Al-Ula, during the recent Greek business mission to Saudi Arabia in March 2022.
On the second day, Monday, May 30, Enterprise Greece will host a full-day Greek-Saudi Business Forum at the Intercontinental Hotel, during which the prospects for cooperation in the following key sectors will be presented:
a) Tourism, b) Energy/Construction/Infrastructure, c) Innovation and d) Agri-food.
Competent Ministers and Deputy Ministers, as well as entrepreneurs from both sides will address the forum.
More than one hundred (100) companies from the Greek business world, have expressed interest in participating. Parallel to the Forum, bilateral meetings of all Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Greece and Saudi Arabia will be held at the hotel, while the Forum will conclude with B2B meetings.
On the third day of the visit, Tuesday, May 31, the 5th Session of the Joint Inter-ministerial Committee between Greece and Saudi Arabia will take place, with the participation of high-level delegations from the Ministries of Development and Investment, Health, Shipping, Tourism, Environment and Energy, Education and Religious Affairs, Labour and Social Affairs, chaired by Deputy Minister K. Fragogiannis and the Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al Faleh.
The Joint Inter-Ministerial Committee will conclude its works with the signing of a Protocol by the two Ministers and an Agreement on the EMC (optic data transmission cable) implementation.
On the same day, members of the Saudi delegation will visit places of interest for potential investment and trade prospects, organized by Enterprise Greece, while contacts with Greek enterprises will continue.
In the context of the Saudi business delegation’s visit, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Fragogiannis will be meeting with members of the Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Council, which was established to promote bilateral business contacts and expand trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Achilleas Konstantakopoulos, Chairman of Temes, and Dimitris Lakasas, CEO of Olympia Electronics S.A. will co-chair the Greek arm of the Council. Lubna Olayan, Head of the Executive Committee of Olayan Financing Company, will chair on the Saudi side” concludes the annoucement by Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
