During the official visit of the European Commissioner for International Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen, to Greece, Export Credit Greece executives were invited to participate in a round table on the Global Gateway, at the office of the Representation of the European Commission in Athens, on Thursday 28 September 2023. It was preceded by a meeting between Ms Urpilainen and the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Export Credit Greece was represented by Ms Sofia Polychronea, General Manager of Legal Affairs and Ms Elissavet Tsigara, International Relations Officer, while representatives from the Port of Thessaloniki (Port of Thessaloniki – ThPAS.A.), Endeavor Greece and the 7th Directorate-General for Development and Humanitarian Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the international title “HELLENIC AID” also participated.
During the meeting, the Commissioner informed the participants, inter alia, of the decision to create the Global Gateway (GG) strategy and stated that the European Commission had decided that official development aid should be transformed into development cooperation with the regions of the Global South (Africa, LAC, Asia, Oceania), in order to achieve sustainable investments that are mutually beneficial for developing countries and for the economy of the EU Member States.
Ms Polychronea informed the Commissioner about the role of Export Credit Greece in the Greek economy and exports, but also about the company’s election to the Global Gateway Business Advisory Group (GGBAG) as an observer and received the congratulations of the Commissioner and the participants. Furthermore, she discussed the possibility of cooperation and involvement of Greek companies and the ECG in similar projects, and asked for access to information and financial instruments in conjunction with the support of the European Commission, in order for the participation of all Member States, regardless of their size, to take place in a coordinated manner and in the spirit of “Team Europe”.
Global Gateway’s political priorities are to promote smart, clean and secure connections in the fields of digital technology, energy and transport, and to strengthen health, education and research systems around the world. The GG strategy aims to mobilise up to €300 billion of investment by 2027 by implementing the “Team Europe” approach, i.e. joining forces to transform the EU’s common external action into something more important than the sum of the parts of which it is composed.