The Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General for International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation, Peter Mihalos, addressed today’s Foreign Ministry “Entrepreneur Information Days” conference, which was aimed at apprising Greek exporters of the potential for exporting Greek products and services to the Belgian, French, German, FYROM, Russian and Turkish markets.
Mr. Mihalos noted the intensifying reform efforts of recent months – which have led to a shift away from the negative climate for Greece – underscoring the impressive 12% increase in Greek exports in the first three quarters of 2012, as well as the fact that the Greek economy has regained the greater part of the competitiveness it had lost.
In this framework he made particular reference to the importance to the Foreign Ministry of economic diplomacy and the internationalization of Greek entrepreneurship.
Salient examples of actions the Foreign Ministry has already undertaken to strengthen the international orientation of Greek enterprises include:
• the recent Business Forum held in China,
• the conference on tourism being held on Friday, 21 December 2012, in collaboration with the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE),
• the hosting of ‘internationalization’ events in important markets abroad,
• the pilot programme for coordinating agencies competent for promoting the international orientation of Greek enterprises, which is being implemented at five of our most important Embassies,
• the inclusion of the targets of all involved Ministries in the Economic & Trade Affairs Offices targets for 2013,
• the creation of an agency for coordinating efforts to promote the international orientation of Greek enterprises, and
• the upgrading of www.agora.mfa.gr, the Foreign Ministry’s economic diplomacy portal.
December 19, 2012