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Initiatives for strengthening communication and cooperation between the Foreign Ministry and Greek export companies

Thursday, 05 May 2016

The Foreign Ministry, via the competent Directorate General for International Economic Relations, is promoting the innovative actions and efforts of Greek agencies and enterprises aimed at increasing the country’s exports.

Export-oriented agencies and enterprises will be called upon to submit their proposals and ideas to the Foreign Ministry’s B8 Directorate, in an effort towards comprehensive promotion of Greek exports. The proposals submitted will be assessed by the Ministry’s competent departments, with the aim of their being announced to the country’s exporters on the AGORA web portal. The detailed process to be followed has already been posted on the AGORA site.

We remind you that the this action is part of the Foreign Ministry’s plan for supporting the extroversion of Greek enterprises and the attraction of foreign investments to Greece. It should be noted that the Foreign Ministry actions that have been carried out or are in the process of implementation also include the following:

•    Restructuring of the Commercial Affairs Sections and opening of new CASs in new markets (Far East, Gulf countries, etc.).

•    Competition for the entry of 15 CAS employees into the National School of Public Administration (the first since 2007).

•    13 Joint Interministerial Committees (JICs) and 17 business missions (October 2015-December 2016).

•    Strengthening of cooperation with chambers of commerce, bilateral chambers of commerce, and the Commercial Affairs Sections of embassies in Athens.

•    Upgrading of the AGORA web portal, drawing up of Entrepreneurship Guides and completion of the CASs ISO certification system.

•    Posting on the AGORA portal of the contact information for delicatessens in 70 countries.

•    Posting on the AGORA portal of contact information for importers in 24 sectors in 40 countries.

•    Talks and presentations at investment funds and think tanks, as well as with individual investors (Over 100 such meetings have already taken place, since December 2015).

•    Co-hosting – with TIF-HELXPO, SEV, FING, PEA, SEVE and chambers of commerce – of three symposia, by geographical zone (Balkans, Black Sea, Mediterranean countries). 1st Symposium to be held on 7-8 July 2016, in Thessaloniki, with Balkan countries.

•    Activation of the Erasmus+ programme for university students, with the aim of their completing internships at the Foreign Ministry’s CASs (pilot implementation with 60 students).

•    Submission of report to the Governmental Council on Economic Policy regarding tax measures that favour exporters but do not conflict with state assistance regulations. Mapping of the course of 18 major foreign investments and the licensing obstacles they met with.

•    Programme for attracting patients from Arab countries and Russia, within the framework of cooperation with rehabilitation clinics in Greece.

•    Strategic plan for the development of thermal springs in Greece, in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry. (The relevant plan has already been submitted to the Tourism Ministry.)

•    Presentation of the project for creating the “Island of Art and Culture,” in which there is already lively investment interest.

•    WindowtoGreece: hosting of extroversion actions abroad by the COSs, with the first effort – held in London, on 20 April 2016 – being a wine exhibition attended by 300 connoisseurs, importers, and reporters from trade magazines.

•    Market twinning programme (Monastiraki-Plaka, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, Isfahan, Cairo and Marrakesh). The relevant invitations have been presented to the Ambassadors to Athens of the countries of the markets in question, with a positive response already having been received from the Turkish side.

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