«If you look at where Greece was five or ten years ago, it would be hard to imagine that today Greece would be one of the top countries in terms of growth in Europe, one of the countries at the forefront of both the green and digital transition. However, it has happened. And it happened because we are firmly committed to changing the «fabric» of the Greek economy, to make it more outward-looking, more open to the world, to increase our exports as a percentage of GDP, but also to make the country an attractive destination for foreign direct investment,» Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, speaking at the Greek-Japanese business conference organized at the offices of JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization in Tokyo, with the participation of Enterprise Greece.
«And I think today there are many convincing reasons why a Japanese company would consider investing in Greece. It is not only our unique geographical location at the «crossroads» of three continents. It is not only the fact that we offer access to the largest single market in the world. It is also related to the fact that our government is deeply committed to making life and business activity of any foreign investor in Greece as easy and seamless as possible,» he added.
The Prime Minister also stressed that Greece offers very interesting investment opportunities everywhere, in a variety of sectors, not only in tourism but also in areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy, services and in fields related to green and digital transition.
During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Enterprise Greece and JETRO.
The following is the greeting of Kyriakos Mitsotakis:
Your Excellencies, JETRO President Mr. Sasaki, dear Vicky Loizou,
Thank you very much for organizing this event. I believe it is extremely important to take advantage of all the opportunities available to us to bring Japanese and Greek companies together to explore mutually beneficial opportunities. We organised this trip to Japan primarily because of the importance we attach to strengthening bilateral business relations. As Vicky (Loizou) pointed out, the story of Greece is a very fascinating one, the story of a country achieving a dramatic turnaround.
If you look at where Greece was five or ten years ago, it would be hard to imagine that today Greece would be one of the leading countries in terms of growth in Europe, one of the countries at the forefront of both the green and digital transition. However, it has happened. And it happened because we are firmly committed to changing the «fabric» of the Greek economy, to make it more outward-looking, more open to the world, to increase our exports as a percentage of GDP, but also to make the country an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.
And I think today there are many convincing reasons why a Japanese company would consider investing in Greece. It is not only our unique geographical location at the «crossroads» of three continents. It is not only the fact that we offer access to the largest single market in the world. It is also about the fact that our government is deeply committed to making life and business activity for any foreign investor in Greece as easy and seamless as possible.
We are committed to achieving tangible results. This was also one of the reasons why we simplified all investor relations activities in the Foreign Ministry. And I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Deputy Minister Frangogogiannis, Vicky Loizou and the entire Enterprise Greece team for organizing this event.
So, if you look at Greece, you see a country that, in our opinion, offers very interesting investment opportunities everywhere, in a variety of sectors, not only in tourism - of course, Greece and Japan are world-class tourist destinations - but also in sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy, services and in areas related to green and digital transition.
You will have the opportunity in a moment to hear Minister Pierrakakis describe the importance we attach to making the country a hub of digital transformation. And I think we have already made significant progress, with results.
So I hope that this forum will be an opportunity for Japanese companies and Japanese government agencies to learn more about Greece. But I am also sure that this visit as a whole provided an opportunity for Greek companies to come into contact with Japanese companies and explore mutually beneficial business opportunities.
After all, as governments, we can only act as catalysts for investment. We cannot create these investments on our own; we can create the right conditions for Japanese companies to invest in Greece and for Greek companies to increase their footprint in the Japanese market. And I hope that this forum will offer us the opportunity to do just that.
I wish you every success in your meetings and consultations today. I am convinced that this visit will be a game changer in our bilateral relations with Japan. We had the opportunity yesterday with the Prime Minister of Japan to discuss a wide range of issues, but also to sign a new strategic cooperation agreement which I believe will take our relationship to the next level.
So I wish you again good luck in your discussions and we hope that we will see more interest from Japanese companies to invest in Greece, but also more interest from Greek companies to penetrate the Japanese markets. Besides, we should not forget that Greek shipowners started building their first ships in Japan right after the Second World War. And in their own way, I believe, they too contributed to the impressive success of the Japanese economy.
Again, arigato, thank you very much for your attention.
