Deputy FM Mardas visits Nairobi (17-20 July 2016)

Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas returns today from Nairobi, where he represented Greece at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 14 Ministerial session, the theme of which was “From Decisions to Actions” on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the UNCTAD plenary, Mr. Mardas expressed Greece’s support for reforming the Organization’s institutional framework with the aim of simplifying the decision-making process, enhancing effectiveness and increasing the potential for implementing projects through securing the requisite resources.

He also stressed that, in view of the 2030 Agenda, immediate practical solutions must be found to strengthen connectivity between southern and norther states, the effectiveness of governments and, in general, international cooperation. At the same time, he referred to the determining factors that promote or hinder trade transactions between the north and south, and he proposed ways to improve industrial cooperation between enterprises of industrial and developing states.

Mr. Mardas also had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Kenya, during which the excellent level of bilateral relations was reaffirmed and there was a discussion of ways to further deepen these relations in all sectors.

During his visit to Kenya, Mr. Mardas, who was accompanied by Larissa MP and chairman of the Greece-Kenya Friendship Parliamentary Group Nikolaos Papadopoulos, led a Greek business mission to Nairobi, where meetings were arranged between Greek entrepreneurs already active in Kenya or interested in becoming active there and representatives of the Kenyan public and private sectors. In this context, Mr. Mardas, accompanied by entrepreneurs, met with the Minister for East Africa, Labor and  Employment, the Physical Planning Minister, the Deputy Tourism Minister, and the Vice President and CEO of Kenya’s National Chamber of Commerce.