Fragogiannis: Greece now “means business” in the international community | News about the Economy
With an article in the Nautemboriki newspaper the Under Secretary of State for Economic Diplomacy and Outreach, Costas Fragogiannishighlights the achievements of economic diplomacy in “the government’s choice to man and create in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs economic diplomacy” with “a reform whose strategic goal is extroversion, without taking a backseat to the country’s traditional multilateral international economic relations. Greece now “means business” in the international community”, he notes.
Focusing initially on the recent multi-day working visit to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, he highlights the climate of acceptance received by the Greek delegation in the more than 20 meetings held there. “Product executives at Google, Microsoft, and Apple, but also of all investment financial organizations, recognized us as reliable interlocutors who they are aware that the country is an attractive investment destination”, he explains by pointing out that “this is a big asset in claiming new investments”.
“The upward trend of Foreign Direct Investments in the last few years is the assurance of the work we are doing to date in Economic Diplomacy”, underlines the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and adds: “2021 was a landmark year as it recorded one of the largest increases in Foreign Direct Investments at 72.3%. According to the available data, the (net) inflows of Foreign Direct Investments amounted to 4.8 billion. euros, the largest FDI inflow since 2002. For the first half of 2022, (gross) FDI amounted to 4.3 billion. euros, an amount corresponding to 86% of foreign investments in 2021, in total. And just in the area of strategic investments, we have approved business plans of over 8.5 billion. euros and there are another 6 billion. in the pipeline to be approved. The contribution of these investments to the labor market is estimated at approximately 4,500 positions”.
According to Mr. Fragogiannis, “the current investment activity, the valuations, which in some cases exceed more optimistic expectations, and the presence of large funds in the Greek market, all show one thing: that foreign investors see in Greece a long-term ability to generate significant capital gains”. In this context, he expresses his optimism “that these rates will continue in 2023, with new investments in energy, life sciences, the development of digital hubs, the supply chain”.
Referring in particular to the government’s choice to staff and create economic diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he emphasizes that “especially in the energy sector, our country is gradually turning into an energy hub for the wider region. As far as natural gas is concerned, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline TAP, the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnection Pipeline IGB and the planned Greece-North Macedonia Interconnection are investments that, given the Russia-Ukraine war, highlight their strategic role and value”. While for the electricity sector, he points out that “our country has formed alliances in the Middle East with countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the promoted agreements for the transfer of electricity from Renewable Energy Sources”.
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