Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Abu Dhabi with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan.
During the meeting, the excellent level of bilateral relations and investment and economic cooperation was confirmed, which has already exceeded the target of 4 billion euros in investments in the Greek economy set for 2022 by the Strategic Investment Cooperation Agreement between the Hellenic Development Bank, the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments and the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund ADQ.
The two leaders discussed further prospects for investment cooperation with an emphasis on opportunities in the fields of digital technology, artificial intelligence and data centers.
The Prime Minister underlined that Greece is one of the seven EU countries selected to build one of the AI Factories and has a dynamic ecosystem of start-ups in this field. He further highlighted its strategic position as a bridge, both economic and in the field of energy, between India, the Middle East and Europe.
They also discussed the strengthening of cooperation in the fields of energy, especially renewable energy sources, connectivity, as well as tourism and agri-food products.
The Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates exchanged views on international and regional developments with a focus on Syria.
After the meeting, the Prime Minister made the following statement:
“Together with the President of the United Arab Emirates we confirmed the depth of the strategic relationship between the two countries.
We were very pleased to see that the target we had set some years ago for foreign direct investment of €4 billion euros from the United Arab Emirates in our country has been exceeded.
We have set the framework for further strengthening our economic relations. I had the opportunity to present again the overall progress of the Greek economy and the important new investment opportunities that are being launched in our country.
We also gave a comprehensive overview of geopolitical developments in the region and discussed the major challenges and opportunities created by the artificial intelligence revolution. The United Arab Emirates is a country that has invested a great deal in this field. I had the opportunity to present to the President the significant opportunities and potential that our country offers for investment in AI infrastructure.
And I also had the opportunity to invite him to visit our country again in the near future, so that we can once again confirm this extremely close geostrategic relationship that we have developed between our two countries.”
