Greek-Saudi ties helping both fulfill their ambitions

The 203rd anniversary of the Greek Revolution and our country’s independence will be marked this year and, here in Riyadh, we celebrate together not only our own but also our common history. Both our countries were home to ancient civilizations and shared important land and sea trade routes and relations, being at the crossroads of different continents. Both our national states are relatively young, although they are the guardians of ancient and respected histories and traditions. More recently, since the 1960s, Greek companies have participated in the building up of Saudi Arabia through its civil, marine and oil and gas infrastructure, shipping and many other fields. For Greece, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a key partner in the region and beyond. We share the same values, upholding international law, the law of the sea and international humanitarian law, as well as the principle of good neighborly relations in our regions. Greece, both nationally and as an EU member, values dearly not only our close cooperation with the Kingdom but also with the Gulf Cooperation

Council, an important and multifaceted regional organization of increasing global importance.

During the last four years, the partnership between Greece and Saudi Arabia has become strategic, covering several different sectors, including political, military, economic and cultural cooperation. Our ministers of foreign affairs and defense, as well as the chief of staff of our armed forces, recently visited Riyadh and held fruitful meetings with their counterparts. Our cooperation also goes beyond these fields; it is wide and multilayered. Our bilateral cooperation with Saudi Arabia is developing steadily in the fields of interconnectivity and energy. The Greek Public Power Corporation and the Saudi Telecommunications Company are together building the East-Med Corridor, a data cable that will connect Europe with Asia via Greece and Saudi Arabia.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, announced at last year’s G20 meeting in New Delhi and in which Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country, provides further potential for the prospects of our bilateral economic and energy cooperation, since both Greece and Saudi Arabia connect different continents and also enjoy excellent bilateral cooperation with India.

The implementation of Saudi Arabia’s spectacular Vision 2030 transformation process has attracted many foreign companies, including several Greek ones, such as Archirodon, SETE Saudia, Salfo and CCC, who have proved to be solid and valuable partners and provided expert know-how and important added value. Several Saudi companies have also invested in Greece, including in several traditional fields such as real estate and entertainment, but also in other tech and innovative sectors. Foreign direct investment inflows to Greece are fast increasing, with investors wanting to seize the opportunity to benefit from our economy’s steady growth. In times of increasing geopolitical challenges, Greece offers a safe haven of stability, growth and promising opportunities to investors from Saudi Arabia and throughout the world. People-to-people relations, as well as culture and tourism, are an important bilateral link. We are happy and honored to welcome an increasing number of visitors from Saudi Arabia, who not only enjoy but also appreciate our country’s natural beauty and understand our hospitality, as well as our culture and traditions. The first meeting of the high-level Greek-Saudi strategic council, which will take place soon, will provide the required comprehensive framework for our bilateral relations and allow us to fully mutually profit from the important common opportunities that our cooperation and economies can provide. A lot has been done already and a lot more can be done to fulfill our mutually high ambitions.

Both our countries, which are acquiring increased importance in our respective regions, have more ambitious roles to develop. Our cooperation can only support this national and regional transformation process for the benefit of peace, stability and prosperity. Both our regions need to be less polarized and more stable.

In the years to come, we look forward to continuing to work together closely to build on our current cooperation and develop new partnerships and joint investments in additional fields, such as sport, culture, food security and shipping.

During the last four years, the partnership between Greece and Saudi Arabia has become strategic

Greece offers a safe haven of stability, growth and promising opportunities to investors from Saudi Arabia