The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, emphasized during a speech at the opening of the eleventh Arab-Greek Economic Forum, which was held during the period 25-26 October in the Greek capital, Athens, under the title: “Greece and the Arab World: Growing Ties”, "Today, the world is going through an exceptional stage full of difficult challenges, and no country in the world has escaped from its repercussions," noting that "the current year 2022 is already a year full of events and tumult for the most part, and it has not ended yet."
He considered that "the negative economic outlook is affected by high rates of inflation and uncertainty, which were fueled by the war in Ukraine, in addition to the increase in food and shipping costs." He stressed that "growth is slowing sharply and facing a series of risks that may push the global economy into recession."
He believed that "the severity of the current shocks will fade from the war, the pandemic and other challenges so that the world will settle on a new balance in which strong and strategic alliances and partnerships will prevail." Considering that "our position in the future will be determined by our choices and our alliances with our partners, so I would like to emphasize the importance of strengthening the partnership between the Arab world and Greece and moving it to a strategic partnership at all levels, and on the broadest practices of trade and sustainable development armed with tools of digitization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These foundations are The main elements that will shape future trends and have a critical role in bringing about greater diversification of risk reduction.” He pointed out that "although trade relations are still modest, but we have all the factors to raise the mutual trade balance and investment flow, and this requires the private sector on both sides to take bold initiatives and explore the capabilities and resources of the other party."
He said, "We are convinced that this forum will contribute to opening new channels of cooperation between Arab businessmen and their Greek counterparts, and will promote increased trade exchange and investment movement between the two sides."
The Secretary-General of the Union presided over the working session, which was held under the title: "Greece - Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council", he affirmed that “the special relationship between the Arabs and the Greeks has continued over the centuries, as they share a long history of integration and multifaceted cooperation dating back thousands of years. Greek companies were among the first players in the boom years in the seventies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, and this relationship is currently witnessing a tangible development at all levels, the level of trade between the two sides increased significantly by 73 percent in 2021 after the impact of the pandemic receded, reaching more than 2.5 billion dollars, which leaves a window of opportunity even further”.
He pointed out that "economic visions and reform programs have taken great and important steps in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and opened wide areas for strengthening the economic, investment and trade partnership with Greece." Considering that "the economic renaissance in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries represents endless opportunities for work and investment, especially in ports and free and economic zones."
He stressed that “the relations today between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Greece are based on solid institutional foundations, as there are many areas in which Greek companies and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries can cooperate, especially in the fields of energy, maritime and air transport, aquaculture, waste management, culture, food and agricultural products, construction and defense technology, in addition to food security, maritime transport, technology, tourism and other fields that contribute to the further development of relations between the two sides”.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
