4th meeting of the Extroversion Council της Enterprise Greece

<

NEWS enPress Releases en4th meeting of the Extroversion Council της Enterprise Greece

Athens, 29 March 2024 | The 4th meeting of the Extroversion Council of Enterprise Greece took place on Thursday 28/03/2024 at 10:00 at the PIRAEUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & Industry.

The President of the Extroversion Council, Secretary General for International Economic Relations and Extroversion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of the Board of Directors of Enterprise Greece, Mrs. Maira Myrogianni, started the meeting with the presence of the CEO of Enterprise Greece, Dr. Marinos Yannopoulos and the Members of the Council, who are representatives of bodies / professional organizations.

The meeting was attended by: a) Mr. Panos Lolos, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and Mrs. Vicky Makrigianni, Director of the International Relations & Regional Development Sector (SEV), b) Mr. Alkiviadis Kalabokis, President of the Exporters’ Association of Crete (SEK), c) Mr. Simeon Diamantidis, President and Mr. Panagiotis Chasapis, Executive Vice-President of the Exporters’ Association (SEVE), d) Mrs. Sofia Efraimoglou-Kounenaki, President and First Vice-President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Mr. Nikolaos Vassiliou, Member of the Administrative Committee / Head of International Relations ACCI, e) Mr. Panagiotis Menexopoulos, Secretary General of the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, f) Mr. Vasilis Korkidis, President and Mr. Nikolaos Mavrikos, Member of the Board of Directors of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEP), and g) Mr. Grigoris Stamatopoulos, President of the Hellenic Export Credit Company (EEEP).

The topics of the meeting included:
1. Recent business missions to Turkey, Serbia, India – conclusions – proposals – follow up
2. European and multilateral economic cooperation as a fundamental parameter for enhancing the extroversion of Greek businesses.
• The European dimension: Regulatory framework, sectoral, financial, geographical issues, etc. (Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU)
• The multilateral dimension: EU Free Trade Agreements as a tool for promoting Greek exports (B6 Directorate of Foreign Affairs)
• Main results of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (B6 Directorate of Foreign Affairs)
3. Board members’ statements

The Secretary-General for International Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of Enterprise Greece, Mrs. Maira Myrogianni, after thanking the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the warm hospitality, underlined the very good cooperation with all productive bodies, the foundation of the effort to enhance the extroversion of Greek entrepreneurship. She also pointed out the decisive role played by Piraeus in the extroversion of the Greek economy, as an important hub of the regional and global supply chain.

“In 2024 we started dynamically”, stressed Mrs. Myrogianni, referring to a wide range of actions to strengthen the image of our country, promote partnerships and internationalize the Greek business community. In the context of trade facilitation, the Secretary General underlined the importance of synergies with relevant stakeholders, to enhance Greece’s connectivity and further promote exports. He made special mention of the aid partnerships with local institutional business bodies in all regions of Greece with the common goal of providing more businesses with access to international markets, promoting joint actions in the field of innovation and attracting investments.

Referring to the dimension of European and multilateral economic cooperation as a fundamental parameter for enhancing the extroversion of Greek businesses, Ms. Myrogianni stressed that the discussions, consultations, and decisions taking place in the EU, the World Trade Organization and other International Organizations concern a wide range of topics and affect both large and small and medium-sized enterprises. He stressed that it is important to establish a two-way communication to better defend the interests of the Greek business community.

The Secretary General for DUS & Extroversion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of the Hellenic Investment and Foreign Trade Corporation (Enterprise Greece), Ms. Maira Myrogianni, after thanking the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the warm hospitality, underlined the very good cooperation with all productive bodies, the foundation of the effort to enhance the extroversion of Greek entrepreneurship. He also pointed out the decisive role played by Piraeus in the extroversion of the Greek economy, as an important hub of the regional and global supply chain.

The CEO of Enterprise Greece, Dr. Marinos Giannopoulos, referred to Enterprise Greece’s Actions in 2023 and noted: “2023 was a year with significant achievements, but also several challenges, for our Company, but I believe that we responded and contributed to the upward course of the Greek economy. Our actions could not have been implemented without the cooperation of the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the productive bodies of the country. As a company, we firmly believe that the cooperation of all of us contributes to the enhancement of entrepreneurship and extroversion and is necessary in today’s economic and geopolitical situation more than ever. By joining forces, we can showcase Greece’s value as a business hub to potential investors, businesses and stakeholders worldwide. By aligning our messages and activities, we ensure a consistent and effective presence in global markets.”

It is worth noting that the Extroversion Council focused during its 4th meeting on issues of European and multilateral economic cooperation as a parameter for enhancing the extroversion of Greek businesses.

Regarding the European dimension, Mr. Panagiotis Papanastasiou, General Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU, referred to the importance of developing our country’s policy of extroversion, considering the EU’s strategic priorities in critical areas for its future, such as economic security, open strategic autonomy, and the Global Gateway. In the context of enhancing the access of Greek businesses both to the Single Market and to third country markets, he stressed the need to exploit the funds from the available financial tools of the Union, emphasizing on them direct funding, to enhance competitiveness, but also to promote the green and digital transition, technological innovation, the infrastructure, security and defense of our country. Concluding, he referred to the need to strengthen regional cooperation, both at corporate and institutional level, with a view to the active participation of the Greek business community in the reconstruction of Ukraine, the promotion of cooperation with the countries of the Balkans and Africa and, more generally, the enhancement of access to European and international value chains. The Permanent Secretariat remains at the disposal of any interested Body or business for information on both EU regulations and policies, as well as on the available financial tools.

Ms. Fotini Karatzaferi, Special Scientific Staff, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented the possibilities offered by the Free Trade Agreements concluded by the EU with third countries, as a tool to enhance Greek exports and the presence of Greek businesses in markets outside the EU. Free Trade Agreements open new markets through tariff reductions or eliminations, but also by addressing non-tariff barriers, such as customs cooperation, harmonisation of technical standards, simplification of sanitary and phytosanitary procedures, etc. At the same time, they contain provisions on cross-border trade in services, e-commerce, the liberalisation of investment, the facilitation of mobility for professional reasons and access to the public procurement market of third countries.

The importance of the World Trade Organization as a guardian of the multilateral trading system, especially at a time of increasing geopolitical tensions and political uncertainty, was highlighted by Ms. Tatiana Leonardou, Administrative – Economic Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Subsequently, an update was held on the results of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (Abu Dhabi, 26 February – 1 March 2024), which, although significantly lower than the agreement on non-tariffs on electronic transactions for e-commerce has been temporarily extended and a few decisions have been adopted to strengthen the position of developing countries in the world trading system. At the same time, progress has been made in negotiations between a certain but sufficient number of WTO members on improving national regulations on trade in services, facilitating investments and promoting environmental cooperation.