Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kostas Fragogiannis’ speech at the Ambassadors Conference on Foreign Policy Priorities titled ‘Economic Diplomacy in Greek Foreign Policy’ (20 December 2019)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear colleagues,
In the modern era, the differences between the traditional expressions of diplomacy and economic diplomacy are growing ever more subtle.
The decade-long national crisis, which led to a 25% drop in Greek GDP and had a devastating effect on the country's international image, is a clear example of an international crisis that became a national one and, in turn, became an international issue with national consequences.
In the modern economic environment, any inability of a country to adapt to the rules of international economic competition leads not only to stagnation, but also to marginalisation, if not regression.
Consequently, the internationalisation, competitiveness and openness of Greek enterprises and the attraction of investments is not merely a choice, but an absolute necessity for the sustainability of our country in the future.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you are well aware, the government collectively and the Prime Minister personally place great emphasis on openness as a driving force for the country's economic and social growth. This is one of the reasons for the creation of the Deputy Ministry for Economic Diplomacy and Openness at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The decision to group all openness structures and bodies spread throughout the administration of Greece under the umbrella of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs serves a simple but important purpose: To create a robust hub that will uphold and promote the Greek economy through our missions abroad.
Our purpose is not only to support Greek enterprises in internationalising their activities abroad, but also to foster a suitable environment for attracting foreign investments.
As to the first part, I am proud and pleased to cite our recent visit to China,
a shining example of Economic Diplomacy in practice. We activated policies and took economic, cultural and business actions in order to reap an exceptionally successful result, as indicated by the 315 meetings booked between the 65 Greek enterprises accompanying us and 125 Chinese enterprises.
As regards investments, the network of Offices of Economic and Commercial Affairs (E.C.A.) and Enterprise Greece will play a pivotal role as the main bodies through which foreign investors can initially contact the Greek market.
In this context, our intention is to create a real “one-stop shop” that will support businesses by helping to solve problems, streamlining procedures and facilitating investments in Greece.
The recently adopted Law 4635/2019 titled ‘Invest in Greece’ effected major changes to the mode of operation of Enterprise Greece, transforming it into an outward-looking, modern and dynamic corporate structure that will contribute to the country's economic, social and environmental growth.
We are aiming for Enterprise Greece to evolve into a flexible structure that will make it easier for the Greek State to:
• attract foreign direct investments;
• promote Greek exports;
• draft the ‘National Strategic Openness Plan’;
• support the realisation of Greek investments in foreign markets; and
• develop international trade.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ bill will be submitted to Parliament in a few days to complete the reform framework that concerns Economic Diplomacy and Openness and to launch numerous processes primarily aimed at promoting Greek products and serving Greek enterprises in their efforts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat for International Economic Relations and Openness will consolidate all the agencies that deal with external trade, including:
• the competent EU committees,
• the World Trade Organisation and the OECD,
• and oversight of Enterprise Greece and the Export Credit Insurance Organization.
In the coming year, the changes will be documented in a new National Openness Strategy that includes the consolidation of the promotion of exports and the attraction of Foreign Direct Investments.
The strategy will prioritise markets and sectors of the economy and provide incentives with appropriate information and training, together with tools for the openness of Greek enterprises, enabling them to offer products and services competitively on an international level.
Initiatives will also be taken to leverage the geographical position of Greece, aiming at creating the terms and conditions for the Greek market of products, services and human resources to become an attractive international hub.
I would also like to touch upon an additional point of crucial importance. Ladies and gentlemen, image is vital.
Small entrepreneurs find it difficult to enter into transactions with a major enterprise that wants to import their products to a large European or American market and to get a seat at the table, given Greece's image among foreign entrepreneurs.
This image is often associated with the beauty of our land, our history and culture.
However, there is another image, more recent and perhaps more memorable: that of unemployment, unreliability and crisis. This is what we want to change. And this is why we have created a working group called ‘Repositioning Greece’.
The main idea is to forge an image of modern Greece that includes all the values of the past but also reflects modern reality — that is to say, high technology, science and present-day accolades in the field of science and among the academic community.
We want to forge the substance and image of this new Greece — and we are working with the year 2030, rather than 2020, in mind.
Every agency, whether public or private, must project a part of this image, and all these images, put together, must make up the image of modern Greece, the new architecture of the image of Greece.
We are not denying any part of our past, but Greece is not just its past. Greece is what we aspire to be in the modern age.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, I would like to touch upon the most important component of this endeavour, which is none other than our human resources.
I spent my entire career in the private sector in Greece and abroad. Upon taking on my duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs five months ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the human resources.
I was well aware that this was no ordinary Ministry. In truth, I was impressed to find people with knowledge, a positive attitude and eagerness to work.
The most important requirement in any reform effort is people — and I am happy to report that the right people can be found at the Ministry.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our economic strength is our national strength. Our devotion to promoting the openness and growth of our country is in the service of defending our national interests.
It is our duty to serve as a new, modern and outward-looking diplomatic model that will activate forces throughout the world.
We must transform the national capital that has moved abroad into a cradle of the New Greece, look towards the future with hope and self-awareness, and fulfil our obligation to improve our country’s position in the modern world.
The state is all of us.
The goal of the political leadership is to provide all the institutional tools needed to strengthen our joint efforts. Our drive will guarantee that these efforts prove successful.
December 20, 2019