Saudi citizens can now get Schengen visas for hassle-free entry into the European Union within 48 hours, Greek Ambassador Dimitrios Letsios told Abdul Hannan Tago of Arab News. In an exclusive interview on the occasion of Greece’s National Day, Ambassador Letsios said that Saudi Arabia is the ninth most important destination for Greek products.
Here is the complete text of the interview:
On the occasion of your National Day, how do you see the growth potential in bilateral ties between your country and Saudi Arabia? Can you mention some figures related to trade exchange?
Saudi Arabia has a favorable balance of trade vis-à-vis Greece due to oil and its derivatives, which are a dominant element of Greek imports. Even so, Greek exports increased almost 145 percent compared to 2010 during 2011 (the best performance ever in the last two years) due to the export of food stuffs, building materials, margarines, processed agricultural products and other items.
In 2010, there was a significant increase of about 69 percent compared to 2009. For the year 2012 this trend continued, placing Saudi Arabia as the ninth most important destination for Greek products. During the same period in 2011, Saudi Arabia occupied the 27th position.
What areas leave room for growth?
The food sector is a promising area for Greek companies in terms of bilateral cooperation. Other areas that contribute effectively to enhancing bilateral business cooperation are the construction and building material sector, the energy sector (wind-energy, solar-energy and others), the environmental protection and services sector (such as health and hospital care), water management resources and the real estate sector. In all of these, several Greek companies have the necessary experience and know-how.
On what sectors is Greece focusing on with Saudi Arabia?
Increasing the flow of visitors, as well as people-to-people contacts between our countries is one of our major goals. In the past, Saudis knew Greece very well and used to visit our country often. Unfortunately, in recent years, the image of Greece in Saudi Arabia has been somewhat distorted by inaccurate media reports.
Saudis who go to Greece discover an ideal destination to conduct business and recreation. They tend to become repeat visitors. We aim to facilitate the issuance of visas for Saudi citizens as much as possible. In most cases, we can now issue Schengen visas for Saudi citizens in less than 48 hours.
The promotion campaign for Greece as an attractive tourist destination within the Saudi market, as well as the re-opening of direct flight connection between Athens, Thessaloniki and other Greek tourist destinations with Riyadh and other major cities in Saudi Arabia, are key contributors to the development of bilateral tourism relations.
Please tell us about the current economic situation in your country. Where does it rank in the international market?
Greece is in the middle of a fairly difficult process of the fiscal adjustment of key macroeconomic indicators by implementing painful but necessary structural reforms in key areas. At the same time, we are rationalizing our public finances.
A year ago, many analysts anticipated that a Greek default and exit from the euro area was almost inevitable. The risk of collapse has been averted and confidence is gradually being restored. Where we stand today bodes well for the future. It can be reasonably expected that real economic recovery will come fairly soon, provided that certain conditions are fulfilled.
Comparing the current situation with where we stood just a few months ago, it is clear that much has been changed for the better. We can now expect, with reasonable certainty, that the steps made so far are indeed leading Greece out of the crisis and onto a path of growth.
We have already come most of the way on a long and difficult road at tremendous cost to Greek citizens and businesses. The groundwork has been laid for dealing with long-standing problems of the Greek economy. Now that the end of this road is finally in sight, we need to intensify our efforts and quicken our pace to cover the remaining distance and ensure that the citizens’ sacrifices will not be in vain and that, better yet, a promising future lies ahead.
Is there any plan for a Saudi delegation to visit your country?
For the time being, any visit of a Saudi delegation to Greece is not foreseen. On the contrary, from April 12 to 17, a Greek business delegation will visit Jeddah and Dammam.
It will be a 14-member Greek delegation from the food sector. They will have business-to-business meetings with Saudi companies in both cities. The Hellenic Export Promotion Organization (HEPO) organizes this business mission in close cooperation with the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of our Embassy in Jeddah and the Chambers of Commerce in Jeddah and Dammam respectively.
Greece will also participate for a second year with 14 Greek companies in the BIG5 SHOW, an international exhibition in Jeddah for the building material sector.
We are also considering participating in the upcoming international food exhibition JEDDAH-FOODEX, which is to take place in December in Jeddah.
Preparations for the fourth Inter-Ministerial Joint Committee on Economic & Technical Cooperation between Greece and Saudi Arabia, to be held in Riyadh, are underway. Holding the Inter-Ministerial Committee is a sign from both sides of their mutual commitment to promoting bilateral economic cooperation and concluding still pending bilateral agreements in the fields of tourism, investment, energy cooperation, to mention just a few.
Please tell us about Saudi investments in Greece?
Saudi investments in Greece are limited mainly to the field of real estate. Most Saudi investors are interested in buying homes in various tourist destinations in Greece and recently, a relatively small interest has been seen for transferring Saudi Arabian funds to Greece to participate in different programs of selling spa-resorts or hotels.