Tuesday, March 19 2019 12:20

ArmInfo. Greece will do everything possible to develop and strengthen trade and economic ties with Armenia. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the  Hellenic Republic to the Republic of Armenia Nafsika Nancy Eva Vraila  stated this on March 19 at the Armenian-Greek business forum in  Yerevan.

According to her, Athens is interested in strengthening economic  relations with Yerevan, and today's business forum can play a  significant role in this. She noted the important role that Greece  attaches to the development of relations with Armenia, as evidenced  by the participation in the forum of the Secretary General for  International Economic Relations and the cooperation development of  the Foreign Ministry of the Hellenic Republic Ioannis Brachos.

In turn, Ioannis Brachos recalled that Greece had overcome the  effects of the crisis, returning to normal development. In 2017, the  rate of GDP growth increased by 1.4 percentage points, in 2018 - by  1.9. As a result, the country's rating was improved, according to the  international Moody's agency. Today, as the Secretary General  stressed, Greece is interested in developing relations with Armenia  in various areas - infrastructure, energy, renewable energy,  transport, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, industry, information  technology, cosmetics, etc. He stated that there is great potential  for increasing bilateral trade . The intergovernmental commission  also plays a prominent role in the development of bilateral  relations. Ioannis Brachos also stressed the importance of  implementing venture programs aimed at developing ties from the Black  Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, according to Dimitrios Dimitru, a representative of the  Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Athens, at present the level of  trade and economic ties between Greece and Armenia does not  correspond to the level of political, cultural and spiritual  relations. According to him, it is necessary to activate bilateral  economic relations, which is in the interests of the parties. He  recalled that the GDP growth rate in Armenia is 7.5%, which is higher  than the growth rate of the Greek economy, which has overcome the  economic crisis. The representative of the Chamber of Commerce  expressed hope for the achievement of concrete agreements during  today's business forum, and the return visit of the Armenian  delegation to Athens.

In this regard, President of the Union of Manufacturers and  Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan stated that the businessmen of  the two states are to blame for the current situation. "The necessary  legislative field has been formed, there are all the prerequisites  for the development of bilateral economic relations, while the trade  turnover between the states is at an extremely low level, which is  a  result of non-serious attitude of the two countries' entrepreneurs  towards each other," the head of the Union stated. He called for  using the opportunities of Armenia - a member of the Eurasian  Economic Union - to create a joint venture to enter the 170-million  EAEU market with joint products, recalling the  free trade area of  the EAEU with Iran, which is on the stage of establishment.

A ceremony of signing a memorandum of understanding between the  Athens and Yerevan Chambers of Commerce and Industry took place  within the forum. According to the Head of the Chamber of Commerce  and Industry of Yerevan, Andranik Aleksanyan, both structures intend  to further deepen their relations in order to develop and strengthen  ties between the businessmen of the two states. He added that Armenia  is now, more than ever, focused on the sustainable and proportionate  development of the business environment.

To note a dozen representatives of Greek and about 50 Armenian  companies take part in the work of the forum, discussing areas of  mutually beneficial cooperation in the B2B format.  According to the  Statistics Committee of Armenia, in 2018 the trade turnover between  Armenia and Greece totaled $ 64.9 million, which exceeds the figures  of 2017 by 32%.