Greece seeks to attract Qatar investments in various sectors

Greece is looking towards attracting Qatari investments in various sectors of the country, whose economy has weathered a longstanding financial crisis, and is witnessing growth in several economic fields.Panagiotis Mihalos, the head of the delegation and chairman of the Greece-Qatar Business Council, said around 20 major Greek firms are seeking partnerships with their Qatari counterparts in the fields of energy, IT and telecommunications, hospitality and tourism, logistics, food production, and real estate, among others.“There are immense opportunities for both Greece and Qatar in a wide range of sectors, considering that our economy is growing, and we have a competent workforce and a large supply of human resource,” Mihalos told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the Qatari-Greek Business Forum held at the Qatar Chamber headquarters yesterday.The forum, which was held in the presence of Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani, vice chairman Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari, and Greek ambassador Constantinos Orphanides, was highlighted by B2B meetings between members of the Greek delegation and representatives of some 40 Qatari companies.Sheikh Khalifa underscored the strong relations between the state of Qatar and Greece and said, “Qatar and Greece enjoy good and friendly relations, and have developed their relations at all levels. There is a keen interest from both countries to further strengthen their relations to broader horizons.” He also noted that the value of trade exchange between the two countries only reached around $100mn in 2017, but expressed optimism of growth and improvements in the import and export of goods. “There are many Qatari investments in Greece in the fields of energy, tourism, hospitality, and real estate sectors, and there are several Greek companies operating in the Qatari market in many sectors, particularly in construction,” Sheikh Khalifa pointed out.He expressed Qatar Chamber’s support for the establishment of more business alliances and partnerships between Qatari and Greek companies. Mihalos said yesterday’s visit aims to enhance economic and business cooperation between both countries, and noted that members of the delegation “are willing to enter the Qatari market.”“I commend the historic relations that bind Greece with the Arab world, especially with Qatar, and this should reflect on the trade exchange between Qatar and Greece,” Mihalos said. Orphanides, who expressed his gratitude to the chamber for hosting the event, said: “Both the Qatari and Greek economies had managed to defeat all challenges. It is the time for both countries’ business communities to establish genuine partnerships at all economic and trade sectors.”