The shipping sector was described as an integral and important part of the positive agenda in Greek-Turkish relations by the Minister of Shipping, Christos Stylianidis, who met, today Friday in Istanbul, with the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloglu.

The two ministers confirmed the close cooperation of the two countries in the shipping sector, both as traditional partners and at the level of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), where – as Mr. Stylianides – there is mutual support in various circumstances.

“Today we agreed to continue on the same path. I truly believe that the Greek-Turkish cooperation within the IMO is an exemplary model of constructive cooperation between two countries, within an international organization,” said the Minister of Shipping. Mr. Stylianides informed the Turkish minister about the European initiatives undertaken within the IMO, particularly in the field of decarbonisation of maritime transport. As he said, “we remain committed to the implementation of international rules and obligations regarding the safety of navigation, the protection of trade routes, the decarbonization of shipping and the protection of the marine environment – especially today, in an era of geopolitical uncertainties”.

The Stylianides-Uraloglou meeting, the first since 2017 at the level of ministers responsible for shipping, took place twenty-four hours after the 6th meeting of the Joint Maritime Committee of Greece and Turkey, the results of which will function, as the Minister of Shipping stated, “as a road map of our cooperation in various areas, such as maritime connections for the transport of goods and passengers between Greek and Turkish ports”.

Mr. Stylianides emphasized that he confirmed with his Turkish counterpart “the positive results of the Joint Maritime Committee and the commitment that the two sides will work together to further strengthen cooperation in the maritime sector.

Specifically, Mr. Stylianidis mentioned three specific areas of cooperation: “First, we agreed that maritime connections have created a win-win situation. We remain committed to supporting them. Secondly, we have established a very successful scheme for providing short-term visas to Turkish citizens to visit the Greek islands. To give you a sense of success, during the pilot phase we granted one hundred thousand visas! Third, maritime tourism is on the rise. Both from commercial yachts and cruise ships. This has tangible results by boosting economic development in coastal communities.”

Mr. Stylianides invited the Turkish minister to visit Athens and promised him a nice lunch or dinner under the Acropolis.

For his part, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloglu said:

“We had very useful discussions on competitiveness in the shipping sector and agreed on the development and expansion of the private sector. We have very good cooperation in the IMO, the International Maritime Organization, and we agreed that we should definitely develop it further. We also discussed how we can work together on decarbonisation and green energy. We exchanged views on the impact on the shipping sector due to world events and wars. In this context, we also assessed the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and Palestine. We will visit Greece as soon as possible and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him (s.s. Christos Stylianidis) again for his visit to our country”.