Indicative of the importance that Saudi Arabia attaches to relations with Greece is the fact that tonight’s visit of Mohammed bin Salman to Athens is the first of the heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia on European soil since April 2018.
The strategic nature of relationships Greece – Saudi Arabia, which was confirmed during the official visit of the prime minister to Riyadh in October 2021, and is expected to be sealed with the signing of a series of bilateral agreements in Athens, as well as the strong interest of the Saudi side in major investments in Greece is signaled by the official visit on July 26 and 27 of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Greece and his meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis today, at Megaros Maximos.
Indicative of the importance that Saudi Arabia attaches to relations with Greece – as a pillar of security and stability in the region – is the fact that tonight’s visit of Mohammed bin Salman to Athens is the first of the heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia on European soil since April 2018.
The strategic nature of the relations has also been sealed by Greece’s contribution to the defense of Saudi Arabia with Arabia by sending a Patriot array, a move that has been appreciated by Riyadh, as announced during Mitsotakis’ visit to the Saudi capital – a visit in which the establishment of a Supreme Cooperation Council of the two countries was also agreed upon.
The strategic nature of the relations, after all, in the context of the government’s strategy for the formation of a network of alliances with the Gulf countries, will be officially established on Tuesday at the Maximos Palace with the signing of an agreement to establish a Strategic Cooperation Council, which will institutionalize the cooperation of two countries per sector.
Mohammed bin Salman will be accompanied by a large government delegation – among them the ministers of Investments, Trade, Communications and Technologies and the head of the sovereign investment fund (PIF) – whose members will sign and exchange agreements with their Greek counterparts.
The agreements to be signed
Among the agreements to be signed between the Greek ministers and their Saudi counterparts are still an agreement on military cooperation, an agreement on cooperation in the energy sector, as Greece becomes a hub for energy transfer to Europe and can be a bridge with the Middle East, an agreement on science and technology, harmony in culture.
Of particular importance is the agreement to be signed by the four companies leading the EMC project (STC, TTSA, PPC and Cyta), so that the project of the “East to Med data Corridor” (EMC), the submarine and terrestrial cable interconnection for the data transfer between Asia and Europe via Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Greece, to be implemented from next autumn. It is a project that essentially upgrades the position of our country as a hub for data storage and distribution in the region of South-Eastern Europe, bringing tangible economic and geostrategic benefits.
The proposal for the construction of the EMC was first put by the Greek side to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the context of the visit of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Riyadh, in October 2021, where it was agreed to proceed with the project. The first signatures were signed last April, while the preliminary conditions were approved at the end of May, during the work of the 5th Joint Interministerial Committee of Greece – Saudi Arabia in Athens.
The 30-member business delegation that will accompany Mohammed bin Salman, for contacts and collaborations with Greek businesses, will also be crowded.
Athens’ goal is direct investments from Saudi Arabia in Greece, cooperation in new sectors, as well as a stronger presence of Greek businesses in Saudi Arabia.
The business contacts follow the activation of the Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Council and the further strengthening and deepening of economic and business relations. This was recently marked by the arrival of a large business delegation in Athens in the context of the Hellenic-Saudi Business Forum and the meeting of the Joint Inter-Ministerial Committee, led by the Minister of Investments of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al Faleh.
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