JEDDAH, 20 November 2005 — A Greek business delegation on a five-day visit to the Kingdom was at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) yesterday promoting investment opportunities in Greece and urging increased cooperation between the two countries.
Among their top requests for improving relations is for Saudi Arabian Airlines to reactivate its route to Greece and they hope that Olympic Airlines would do the same. This step should increase tourist and business trips between the two countries. The last Greek business delegation to the Kingdom was eleven years ago and the last Saudi business delegation to Greece was around eight years ago, so the purpose of this visit to reinvigorate business relations between Saudi and Greek businessmen which go a long way back.
The delegation seeks to inform Saudi businessmen and women of the different investment potentials available there and to study the options offered here.
Secretary-general of JCCI, Mohammed Al-Sharif, welcomed the delegation and informed them of the recent changes in the Kingdom’s economic prospective with the joining of the World Trade Organization and the new regulations for issuing business visas. The delegation is headed by the president of the Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Development (AHCCD), Anastassios Antonopoulos, secretary general of AHCCD, Mohamed E. T. Elkhazmi, and coordinator international cooperation network of the federation of Greek industries (SEV), Ioannis Patsiavos. It included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, various chambers of commerce in Greece, the food sector, petroleum products, technology sector, travel, textile, handcrafts and of course construction sector which had a strong presence in previous decades in Saudi Arabia during the construction boom. Elkhazmi spoke about the positive changes in Saudi Arabia in the investment opportunities especially with its accession to WTO and asked that Saudi Arabian Airlines activate its route to Greece. Consul General of Greece Dr. Dimitrios Zavoritis said that he hopes they would be able to grant visas on the same day to Saudi businessmen soon. Adviser at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vassilios Bakalis, said that total exports from Greece to Saudi Arabia in 2004 were only $64 million, whereas Greece purchased oil from Saudi Arabia that year worth $1.6 billion. “Perhaps the reason the trade is low is because there hasn’t been enough missions between the two countries and maybe there is an outdated view of Saudi Arabia in Greece,” he said.
Al-Sharif suggested that Greece should participate in a catalog show in 2006 at the JCCI. He said that there are potential investments in upgrading facilities in oil and gas, infrastructure, ports, airports and in tourism as Saudi Arabia has introduced religious tourism and would benefit from the Greeks’ experience in their service. The delegation is traveling today to Riyadh and then to Dammam. They have received Saudi businessmen at the Crowne Plaza hotel where they were staying during the past two days for business-to-business talks and hoped to do the same in Riyadh and Dammam.
