UAE and Greece to set up $4.2bn investment initiative

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets Greek prime minister in Abu Dhabi during official visit

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, met Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece on Monday. All photos: MOPA

Mr Mitsotakis, who is currently on an official visit to the UAE, was accorded an official reception on his arrival at Qasr Al Watan.

Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Mitsotakis stand for the national anthem during the reception at Qasr Al Watan.

During their meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Mitsotakis discussed enhancing co-operation between their countries.

Mr Mitsotakis signed a guest book during the official reception at Qasr Al Watan.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs (3rd R) greets Mr Mitsotakis during the official reception at Qasr Al Watan.

Present at the official welcoming ceremony for Mr Mitsotakis were: Sheikh Khaled; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad, private affairs adviser in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan, Minister of State; Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc and chairman of Masdar; Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Khalifa; Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention; Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth; Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy; and Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

Members of the Greek delegation accompanying Mr Mitsotakis attend the official reception at Qasr Al Watan.

Kostas Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy and Openness at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy.

Konstantinos Skrekas, Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar.

Mohamed Al Suwaidi, chief executive of ADQ and Ioannis Tsakiris, Greece's Deputy Minister for Development and Investments.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief executive and managing director of Mubadala Investment Company, and Ioannis Tsakiris, Greece's Deputy Minister for Development and Investments.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and chief executive of Adnoc and chairman of Masdar, with Adonis Georgiadis, Greek Minister of Development and Investments.

Abdulrahman Al Owais, UAE Minister of Health and Prevention, and Dr Mina Gaga, Greek Alternate Minister of Health.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, met Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

As part of the visit, the UAE and Greece said they had agreed to create a €4 billion ($4.22bn) initiative to invest in the Greek economy. Investments will be made in sectors including infrastructure, renewable and new forms of energy, health care and pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture, and logistics, state news agency Wam reported.

For the initiative, a deal was signed between Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ and Hellenic Development Bank and Hellenic Development Bank of Investments, by Mohamed Alsuwaidi, managing director and chief executive of ADQ, and Kostas Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mubadala Investment Company and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments also agreed to extend their partnership in a €400 million co-investment platform they established in 2018.

An agreement was signed by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala, and Antigoni Lymperopoulou, chief executive of the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments.

Mr Mitsotakis, who is on an official visit to the UAE, was accorded an official reception on his arrival at Qasr Al Watan, where the national anthems of the UAE and Greece were played, followed by a 21-gun salute, Wam reported.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office were also among the welcoming party.

Mr Mitsotakis was accompanied by several members of Greece’s Cabinet, including Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investments and Konstantinos Skrekas, Minister of the Environment and Energy.

During their meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Mitsotakis discussed enhancing co-operation between their countries.

Sheikh Mohamed said the visit to the UAE would help to expand the strategic partnership between the UAE and Greece.

They reviewed opportunities to advance their relations, especially in the economic, investment, developmental, environmental and energy fields, and looked at expanding their partnership in renewables and food security.

The leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues of mutual concern and relevant developments, including the Ukraine crisis and the humanitarian and economic fallout.

The Greek prime minister arrived in the UAE on Sunday and was received by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and officials at the Presidential Flight terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Mitsotakis witnessed the signing of agreements between the two countries.

These included an agreement on security co-operation, fighting organised crime and counterterrorism, signed by Dr Al Jaber and Panagiotis Theodorikakos, Greek Minister of Citizens’ Protection.

Dr Al Jaber also signed agreements in the field of advanced industries and technology and standardisation with Greece’s Ministry of Development and Investments.

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, signed an agreement with Konstantinos Skrekas, Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy.

Energy sector deals were also signed. A strategic framework agreement between Greece’s Motor Oil and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to explore opportunities to supply LNG cargoes to Greece, as well as explore other co-operation opportunities between the two sides, was signed.

Clean energy company Masdar and the Greek government signed an agreement on eco-island renewables deployment, Wam said. Masdar and Motor Oil will co-operate on decarbonising the energy market in Greece. A joint venture to develop onshore renewable energy projects in Greece will be established after an agreement was signed between Masdar and Kyoto SA.

An economic co-operation agreement was signed by Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy, and Adonis Georgiadis, Greek Minister of Development and Investments. Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention and Minister of State for FNC Affairs, and Dr Mina Gaga, Greek Alternate Minister of Health, signed an agreement between the health ministries.

In November, Etihad Credit Insurance, the UAE’s federal export credit agency, signed a preliminary agreement with Greece’s Export Credit Insurance Organisation to boost bilateral trade and economic co-operation.

The agencies aim to support local businesses operating in the agriculture, construction, steel and aluminium, ceramics, renewable energy, mechanical and waste management sectors with trade finance tools to help them grow internationally.

In 2020, the UAE and Greece established a strategic partnership based on a relationship that dates back to 1976, when the countries set up a joint committee for economic, cultural and technical co-operation.

Last year, the value of non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and Greece reached nearly Dh2.1 billion ($571.7m), up 67 per cent from 2020, figures compiled by the Ministry of Economy show.