Meeting of the Greek-Russian Joint Interministerial Committee in Thessaloniki
Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas and Maksim Sokolov, Transport Minister of the Russian Federation held a meeting between May 12-15, 2016 in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.
As Co-chairs of the Greek-Russian Joint Interministerial Committee, they discussed the progress that has been made in various sectors of bilateral economic cooperation, since the 9th meeting of the Greek-Russian JIC, which took place in November 2015, in Sochi. It was found that significant progress has been made in the sectors of agriculture, transport, interregional cooperation, tourism and energy.
The Co-chairs also discussed the state of bilateral trade and economic relations, looking at priority sectors for trade and economic cooperation, as well as issues that cause delays. They also drew up common positions for the strengthening of Greek-Russian economic and trade relations in sectors such as energy, geological research, agriculture, transport, tourism, scientific and technological cooperation, interregional cooperation, and cooperation between the two countries’ business communities. The two sides agreed to accelerate actions for the development of the institutional framework for bilateral cooperation and to prepare for the signing of a number of bilateral agreements.
The two Ministers agreed that, in the current difficult conditions for growth, and despite the fall in the volume of bilateral trade, both countries remain important strategic partners, while they also praised the political, cultural and economic relations between the two countries; relations that go back more than a thousand years.
Additionally, they considered the potential for holding the 10th Meeting of the Greek-Russian JIC in September of this year, in parallel with the 81st Thessaloniki International Fair, as this meeting of the JIC on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation is among the centerpiece events of Greece-Russia Year 2016.
Mr. Sokolov also held talks with Greece’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, C. Spirtzis, during which they discussed current issues in Greek-Russian cooperation in the transport sector.
Meeting with the Union of Commercial & Economic Attachés of Embassies in Greece
Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas on Monday presented the planned economic diplomacy actions for the current year to members of the Union of Commercial & Economic Attachés of Embassies in Greece.
The meeting was attended by Commercial and Economic Diplomats from 31 Embassies (Italy, France, Holland, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Portugal, the U.S.A., Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Jordan, South Africa, Australia, and others). Mr. Mardas presented the economic diplomacy actions for 2016, providing a concise and targeted briefing on the Foreign Ministry’s policy for promoting exports and attracting investments.
SOURCE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece
PHOTO: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece flickr
