Twenty-one investment deals have been signed by the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and private sector firms with their Greek counterparts as a follow-up to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's visit to Greece.
Deals were penned in the fields of logistics and transportation, renewable energies, manufacturing, environment services, aquaculture, defence, import and export, engineering and agriculture.
Thirty-two representatives from Greek companies, chambers of commerce and trade associations attended the event, taking part in B2B and G2B meetings to explore mutually beneficial investment opportunities.
FDI influx
Saudi Arabia has seen strong growth in foreign direct investment in recent years as the kingdom’s economic reforms have unlocked a broad range of opportunities for international investors. Last year net FDI growth increased by an unprecedented 257.2%, with inflows totalling almost $20 billion for the year – the highest they have been for a decade.
The investment meeting was opened by Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia; Costas Fragoyiannis, Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy and Openness of the Republic of Greece; and Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investment of the Republic of Greece. Also in attendance were Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia; and Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media of Saudi Arabia.
Exploring opportunities
The meeting included presentations by both Greek and Saudi entities. From Greece, representatives from the leading global industrial and energy company Mytilineos highlighted opportunities available to Saudi investors. Saudi officials from Ajlan and Bros Holding Group, one of the Middle East’s largest private sector conglomerates, showcased areas of investment available in the kingdom in renewable energy and infrastructure.
Greek investment in Saudi Arabia has continued to grow over recent years across several sectors, from professional, scientific and technical activities, through manufacturing and construction, to finance and insurance.
The partnerships forged during the Athens meeting underscore the deepening and widening of investment relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia. In September 2021, the launch of the Joint Saudi-Greek Business Council in Athens aimed at establishing closer cooperation between private sector actors in the two countries.
Saudi-Greek Business Forum
In March 2022, the inaugural Saudi-Greek Business Forum in Riyadh saw the participation of 43 Greek companies and 110 Saudi companies and featured a flurry of activities across a range of sectors including renewable energy and hydrogen, maritime shipping and logistics, tourism and hospitality, and construction and infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia and Greece are implementing a joint project to build a submarine cable and data line to connect the two countries and are collaborating closely to leverage synergies in such key sectors as tourism and shipping.
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