UAE-Greece Joint Committee meets in Athens

The works of the Ministerial Meeting of the 3rd session of the UAE-Greece Higher Joint Committee were held today in the Greek capital, Athens.
The meeting was headed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, and George Katrougalos, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs in Greece.
The country’s delegation included 71 members representing different federal and local government authorities and semi-government and private companies in the UAE.
Dr. Al Jaber conveyed the greetings of the UAE’s leadership and people to the leadership and people of the Republic of Greece while adding that this meeting reflected the aspirations and directives of the leadership of both countries.
He highlighted the visit to Athens of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in July 2016, when he opened the new headquarters of the country’s embassy, adding that this visit represented major evidence of the development of their mutual bilateral relations.
Dr. Al Jaber also stressed the depth of the exceptional historic relations that connect the UAE with Greece, which is reflected in the holding of this committee that highlights the desire of both sides to develop their bilateral relations. He also praised Athens’s hosting of the works of the 3rd meeting of the Higher Joint Committee.
He added that the joint committee between both countries represents a valuable opportunity and an effective platform for communication and to deepen understanding and study their accomplishments, as well as plan to reach new horizons of joint co-operation, as proven by the results of the 2nd session of the joint committee. He further added that H.H. Sheikh Abdullah announced the launch of an important investment project between the UAE and Greece to develop the land of the old Athens airport, which is expected to provide over 50,000 jobs during its construction.
Dr. Al Jaber praised the accomplishments of the bilateral co-operation between both countries while expressing the UAE’s hope for strengthening co-operation with Greece in different areas, notably in commerce, investments and qualitative partnerships in energy, infrastructure, transport, logistic services, real estate and other areas.
He stressed the significant role of the private sector in this connection while calling on the Greek private sector to benefit from the UAE’s advanced commercial and investment stature, which represents an important entry point for trade and investments and a major gateway to the region’s markets. The UAE has a prominent position in international competitiveness reports due to its attractive business environment and developed infrastructure, he added.
He further stressed the importance of the private sector’s major role in promoting bilateral co-operation.
He also called for the promotion of non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Greece, while further highlighting the role of the private sector in the development of economic bilateral ties.
He praised the development of cultural and social ties between both countries, as well as their continuous development of tourism and cultural relations. He referred to the number of Greek students in the UAE which had reached some 570 in 2016, while the total number of Greek visitors reached 33,898 visitors, confirming the strength of their bilateral ties.
He also mentioned that Emirates Airlines provides daily flights from Newark Liberty International Airport in the United States through Athens starting from March 2017, while direct flights by national carriers to Greece total 19 trips per week.
He then stressed the importance of the civil aviation sector in increasing the trade and investment flow between the two countries, while urging civil aviation authorities in the UAE and Greece to work together and enhance co-operation between their national carriers.
In his speech, George Katrougalos welcomed Dr. Al Jaber and his accompanying delegation, while highlighting the importance of this visit to promote and strengthen bilateral relations and open new horizons of mutual strategic co-operation, especially in economic, commercial, investment, social and cultural areas.
He added that there are many mutual areas and opportunities for co-operation, while stressing the importance of co-operation in the fields of investment, energy, tourism, education, science and technology, sports, culture, food and agriculture, to benefit the people of the two friendly countries.
He pointed out that this visit will have direct and positive impacts on the future consolidation and support of strategic co-operation between the two countries.
At the end of the joint committee meeting, the two sides signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), most notably a draft on co-operation in the fields of energy and maritime transport, as well as for establishing a joint business council, enhancing investment and trade opportunities and for renewable energy sources, maritime industries and maritime transport. The delegates also approved the minutes of the meeting of the third session of the UAE-Greece joint committee.
After the completion of the joint committee meeting, the UAE-Greece Business Forum was held under the chairmanship of Dr. Al Jaber and Giorgos Stathakis, Ministry of Environment and Energy, with representatives of private and government sectors from the UAE and Greece. The forum made several business and economic deals and paved the way for greater investments and commercial relations between both countries.
Later, the UAE minister visited the Loulis Mills, one of the largest and oldest flour mills in Europe and Balkan region.
Owned by UAE's Al Dhahera Company, the mills have a production capacity of 400,000 MT with a total storage capacity of 40,000 tonnes. Loulis Mills provides its customers in Greece and Europe with over 120 varieties of flour.

Source: WAM