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%.