The bridge of investment and cooperation with the Mecca of global innovation and technology in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, which is expected to be accompanied by direct flights to and from Athens, is the result of a trip by Under Secretary of State for Economic Diplomacy and Outreach, Kostas Fragoyannis.

– The growth trend of foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past three and a half years is impressive. In 2021, an increase of 72.3% was recorded. Net inflows reached €4.8 billion, the highest since 2002. For the first half of 2022, (gross) FDI amounted to 4.3 billion euros, which corresponds to 86% of foreign investment in 2021 as a whole. And in the area of ​​strategic investments alone, we have approved business plans worth more than 8.5 billion euros, and another 6 billion are pending approval. The contribution of these investments to the labor market is estimated at about 4,500 jobs. Everything points to one thing: foreign investors see Greece as a long-term opportunity for significant capital gains. We are optimistic that this momentum will continue into 2023 with new investments in energy, life sciences, digital hubs and supply chains.

The growth of foreign direct investment over the past 3.5 years is impressive. In 2021, an increase of 72.3% was recorded.

– The purpose of this particular trip was to conquer Silicon Valley. We managed to present the modern face of Greece in general and the Greek innovation ecosystem in particular in the Mecca of technology and innovation. Greece now means business and we have shown this in all our contacts and meetings. Our seven-day presence in San Francisco has been a catalyst in communicating with business decision makers. We have been hard at work since the day we returned to complete what was required of us to develop new partnerships and investments. Together with Deputy Minister of Development Christos Dimas and Secretary General for International Economic Relations and President of Enterprise Greece Yiannis Smirlis, we have held many meetings with financial investment funds as well as entrepreneurs outside the narrow spectrum of technology. Of course, we also visited all the giant companies that have already invested in our country, as well as Greek companies that are doing well in Silicon Valley.

– The image of the country has changed, and this is already an established fact at the meetings that we hold. Both in meetings with Microsoft and Google, and during visits to Berkeley, the University of San Francisco and Stanford, Greece is visible in the university’s research programs, as well as in investment activities led by company personnel. The world is changing at a rapid pace after a period of a pandemic that has drastically affected the way the high-tech industry operates. There are big business plans in the works, but also a lot of work to bring them to life.

“We came to San Francisco with a clear focus on the technology industry, but with an open agenda in the meetings we had with aerospace companies. The goals in our planning were three main directions: first of all, to begin the procedures for establishing the institutional framework of the Hellenic Silicon Valley hub and symbolically link it to the startups that we took with us. Secondly, with visits, meetings and presentations at the universities of Berkeley, Stanford and the University of San Francisco to create perspectives and dynamics of their connection with Greek research and educational institutions. And thirdly, after the large investments that technology giants have already made in our country, to expand their prospects by presenting the entire network of opportunities that exist in our country.

I must also inform you that in the course of the contacts we have made with the officials of the municipality of San Francisco, which manages the city’s airport, we have received assurances that they are very interested in establishing a direct line between Athens and San Francisco.