Speech of Deputy MFA K. Fragogiannis at the Conference "Southeast Europe & East Med: New strategies, New Ρerspectives" with the title “Greece as a Pillar of Stability in the Eastern Mediterranean"

“Distinguished guests, Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to take part in today's conference.

Having lived in Greece during the years of the crisis, never did I imagine for a wild moment, that one day, I would be standing here in front of you, expressing my strong conviction that my home- country is -on top of regional pillar of stability- emerging as an important investment destination.

And yet, here we are.

It was, during his recent visit to Athens that Secretary Pompeo stated (and I quote): "This is a dynamic region, with lots going on, plenty of change taking place and we are very confident that together, we can work to ensure that Greece can be a pillar for stability in this region."

Indeed, this is a most fair & accurate definition of our role and the essence of Greece's Foreign policy since 1974 and what our newly elected government stands for: to be a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

But this is not an easy task at all!

We all know that South Eastern Europe and the broader eastern Mediterranean are a volatile area.In the last century or so the region has generated more than its fair share of wars, armed conflicts and geopolitical crises.Even over the past few years, and especially since the Arab spring of 2011, the situation has -at times- further deteriorated.

On one hand, old sources of tension such as the Middle East Peace Process and the continuous occupation of Cyprus, still remain in place while on the other hand, we are confronted by new sources of instability: Syria, Libya, the threat to territorial integrity or sovereignty and the continuing existence of territories not under effective state control, migration and refugee flows combined with potential terrorism.

Against these challenges Greece has made a strategic choice to promote political stability and respect of international law.

More specifically:

In Southeastern Europe, Greece values regional cooperation and EU integration as an effective tool for the overall development of the region and of the individual countries within it.

We pursue enhanced coordination and cooperation in developing inter-connectivity, transport and relevant infrastructure in the wider region of South Eastern Europe as a means of bringing countries and people together.

In the eastern Mediterranean, Greece has sought to promote peace and stability through a number of trilateral schemes of cooperation with Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. From our point of view, it is crucial to shape and promote a positive, broader and manifold agenda of cooperation in international affairs, focusing on developing synergies and joint activities. In particular, the trilateral cooperation between Greece-Cyprus and Israel has proven to be extremely useful by contributing significantly to the security and stability of the Middle East region.

In this context, the three countries have stated their common commitment to the realization of the East Med pipeline project, which is expected to provide further impetus to the economic cooperation of neighboring countries, enhancing energy security, while it aims to develop relations and inter-state networks in a number of sectors, including trade, tourism and environmental protection.

The importance of this cooperation becomes more critical in light of recent developments. Obviously, I am referring to the construction of the new Suez Canal, and the discovery of the Zohr field, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

In that tone of developing regional synergies and promoting cooperation, our Government's pro investment policy requires that economic diplomacy becomes an essential and integral part of our foreign policy. In that respect, we have recently brought under the roof of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs all responsible bodies for bilateral economic relations, export promotion and attracting FDI. Given this new mandate, we work diligently in view of supporting and effectively communicating a number of interesting projects in the wider region.

I need to stress that these are actual projects that I am referring to. That is, projects which are either in the implementation stage or have reached a high level of maturity, and not just vague plans.

Greece maintains a robust economic presence in South Eastern Europe and the Balkans, ranking among the most important trade and investment partners in the region.

As said we encourage efforts to enhance the inter-connectivity among the countries. To this end, we would welcome the cooperation between local and Greek companies for the implementation of transportation and infrastructure projects.

It should be noted that some of the said projects have important implications for the region. Here is a few examples:

• The completion of the lonian-Adriatic motorway; parts of which, in Greece and Croatia, have already been constructed. Once completed, Trieste in Italy will be linked with Kalamata in Greece.

• The Pan-European Corridor X from Salzburg to Thessaloniki.

• The rail connection from Piraeus to Belgrade and onward to Budapest.

• The upgrading of the Igoumenitsa-Thessaloniki-lstanbul rail connection and the operation of the railway link between Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupolis with Bourgas and Varna up to the Russe port on the Danube.

To put my point more clearly to you, just last Thursday, during the 4th Thessaloniki summit Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Prime Minister Borisov of Bulgaria agreed to work together in order to consider highway infrastructure projects in view of providing even better connections between the two countries.

Greece strongly supports these projects since they have the capacity to transform the Balkans. Effectively, the Adriatic and Ionian seas will be linked with the Aegean and the Black sea ports. This will prove to be an immense benefit for multimodal transport and for the overall trade and people connecting in the region.

On the Energy sector, Greece is emerging fast as a major hub in the broader region: natural gas, liquefied natural gas, green energy and new oil and gas exploration projects.

Let me explain.

Given that the energy sector is one of the central pillars of economic growth and competitiveness, Greece's main goal is to maximize energy security by fully supporting the balanced diversification of sources, suppliers and routes and the development of indigenous natural gas resources and Renewable Energy Sources.

Due to its geographical position, Greece has the potential to become a European gateway, as well as an energy transit country for the wider region.

In this context, a significant number of energy infrastructure projects are under way in Greece, with the support and contribution of the EU, such as:

• the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to Italy and, from there, all the way to central Europe (which is almost completed)

• the Interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria (IGB), which will link the gas networks of the two countries,

• the Interconnector between Greece and North Macedonia which will allow our northern neighbor to be supplied by TAP transported gas, and

• the construction of the floating LNG storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Alexandroupolis, with the aim of obtaining energy security the wider region, while exploiting the potential of the LNG sector.

We do not -however- put all our eggs in a single basket. Our aim is to become an energy hub catering to gas supplies from a variety of sources: Natural gas from Russia and Azerbaijan, LNG from the US, Algeria and other sources - we want to be able to accommodate them all. We also follow with great interest the ongoing developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The substantial offshore gas discoveries in Cyprus, Israel and Egypt constitute a new challenge in successfully aligning the sector with energy security. Special notice must be given to the recent establishment of the "3+1" dialogue on energy cooperation among Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the United States.

This initiative may lead to:

• support of regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean,

• exploring opportunities of potential energy projects and

• encouragement towards necessary investments from the private sector.

Renewable Energy as a sector, on the other hand, presents considerable opportunities for action. Prime Minister Mitsotakis recently announced that Greece will completely phase out lignite for power production by 2028.

In this light, we can provide excellent business projects since we endeavor to develop our own domestic resources. To make my point clear through an example, just a couple of weeks ago, a flagship project in the island of Crete was given the green light. It is a heliothermal project involving the construction of a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) central receiver tower, employing molten salt storage technology, which will be able to cover 10% of the island's electricity needs. The project has already begun!

At the same time, Greece has a future in the oil and gas exploration sector. So far, 13 on- and offshore blocks have been conceded to international consortia for exploration purposes.

Having said the above, we obviously expect the interest of the major international energy companies to focus also on the next five concession blocks being made available:

• in the Ionian Sea,

• south of the Peloponnese and

• south of Crete.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Considering our geographical position and tough neighborhood we have historically acted as a bridge between Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

Despite the last decade of severe political and economic crisis, thanks to the resilience of the Greek people, our homeland has transformed from being a source of uncertainty to a source of stability and solutions.

There is a wind of change, growth and prosperity that already blows across the country. Presently, it is a calm and steady wind, it is a sea breeze, but like all Greek winds, it has the potential to become powerful.

We will obviously be working closely with our friends and traditional allies in view of promoting our mutual interests. We will emerge dynamically, through economic reforms, strong political will of the new government, as an economic growth and investment hub for the wider region.

But above all, we shall always be the regional pillar of stability!”