“If you look at where Greece was five or ten years ago, it would be hard to imagine that today Greece would be one of the top growing countries in Europe, one of the countries at the forefront of both green and digital technologies. . transition. However, it happened. And this happened because we are determined to change the “fabric” of the Greek economy, to make it more oriented to the outside world, more open to the world, to increase our exports as a percentage of GDP, and also to make the country an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.” emphasized Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the Greek-Japanese business day, organized at the office of the Japanese foreign trade organization JETRO in Tokyo with the participation of Enterprise Greece.

“And I believe that today there are many good reasons why a Japanese company is considering investing in Greece. It’s not just our unique geographic location at the crossroads of three continents. It’s not just that we offer access to the world’s largest single market. It is also due to the fact that our government is deeply committed to making the life and business activities of every foreign investor in Greece as easy and hassle-free as possible,” he added.

The Prime Minister also stressed that Greece offers very interesting investment opportunities everywhere, in many sectors, not only in tourism, but also in sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy, services and in areas related to the transition to green and digital technologies.

During the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Enterprise Greece and JETRO.

Here is a greeting from Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

Your Excellency JETRO President Mr. Sasaki Dear Vicky Loizou,

Thank you very much for organizing this event. I think it’s extremely important that we use every opportunity we have to bring Japanese and Greek companies together to explore mutually beneficial opportunities. We organized this trip to Japan primarily because of the importance we attach to strengthening bilateral business relations. As Vicky (Loizu) noted, the history of Greece is very fascinating, the history of a country that turns impressive pages.

If you look at what Greece was like five or ten years ago, it would be hard to imagine that today Greece would be one of the first fast growing countries in Europe, one of the countries at the forefront of both green and digital transition. However, it happened. And this happened because we are determined to change the fabric of the Greek economy, to make it more outward oriented, more open to the world, to increase our exports as a percentage of GDP, and also to make the country an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.

And I believe that today there are many good reasons why a Japanese company is considering investing in Greece. It’s not just our unique geographic location at the crossroads of three continents. It’s not just that we offer access to the world’s largest single market. It is also due to the fact that our government is deeply interested in making the life and business activities of every foreign investor in Greece as easy and hassle-free as possible.

Our goal is to achieve tangible results. It was also one of the reasons why we streamlined all investor relations activities at the State Department. And I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Deputy Minister Mr. Fragoyannis, Mrs. Vicky Loiza and the entire Enterprise Greece team for organizing this event.

Therefore, if you look at Greece, you will see a country that, in our opinion, offers very interesting investment opportunities in all directions, in a variety of sectors, not only in tourism (of course, Greece and Japan are world class tourist destinations), but and also in sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy, services and areas related to the green and digital transition.

You will soon have the opportunity to listen to Minister Pierrakakis describe the importance we place on making the country a hub for digital transformation. And I believe that we have already made significant progress with the results.

So, I hope that this forum will provide an opportunity for Japanese companies and Japanese government agencies to learn more about Greece. But I also believe that this visit as a whole was an opportunity for Greek companies to make contact with Japanese companies and explore mutually beneficial business opportunities.

After all, as governments, we can only act as catalysts for investment. We cannot create these investments alone, we can create the right conditions for Japanese companies to invest in Greece and for Greek companies to increase their presence in the Japanese market. And I hope this forum will give us the opportunity to do just that.

I wish you success in the meetings and consultations that you will hold today. I am convinced that this visit will change the rules of the game in our bilateral relations with Japan. Yesterday we had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with the Prime Minister of Japan, as well as to sign a new strategic cooperation agreement, which, I am sure, will take our relationship to a new level.

So again I wish you success in your discussions and we hope that we will see more interest from Japanese companies to invest in Greece and also more interest from Greek companies to enter Japanese markets. After all, we must not forget that the Greek shipowners began to build their first ships in Japan immediately after the Second World War. And in their own way, I think they also contributed to the impressive success of the Japanese economy.

Once again, arigato, thank you very much for your attention.