Athens, 24 June 2008

Addressing the business conference held in Beijing on the occasion of the official visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Petros Doukas referred to the progress and stability of the Greek economy, as well as the opportunities that exist for further development of cooperation with China in the financial and business sectors.

Greek entrepreneurs accompanying the President of the Republic on his visit to China and prominent Chinese businesspersons participated in the business conference entitled “Greece: Strategic partner for China’s global policy”. Having noted in his speech to the conference the strong cultural relations between the two countries and the parallel development of philosophical studies in the two countries from 600 to 300 BCE, Mr. Doukas stressed the particular need for global cooperation on solving the problems facing the global economy.

“Since last summer, the global economy has confronted major problems and is currently being tested on two fronts. Solving these problems will require cooperation that is stronger than ever before,” Mr. Doukas stressed, underscoring with regard to the oil crisis that “it is extremely unlikely that oil prices will return to levels under $100 dollars a barrel.”

Remarking on the development of the Chinese economy, Mr. Doukas noted the impressive growth rates that have been observed in recent years. “You are now the third largest economy in the world in terms of GNP (€2.65 billion) and the second in terms of purchasing power parity,” Mr. Doukas stated, adding with regard to the Greek economy that “the projected growth rates for Greece are 3.3% and 3.4%, respectively, as compared to 1.7% and 1.5% for the Eurozone.”

Referring to Greece’s strength in the merchant shipping sector, Mr. Doukas noted that Greek ship owners are the biggest and most important customers of Chinese shipyards, and have contributed to the increase in this sector. “We are proud that the Greek merchant shipping fleet carries nearly 50% of merchandise to and from China,” Mr. Doukas said.

Finally, referring to the Athens Stock Exchange, Mr. Doukas stressed to the Greek and Chinese entrepreneurs participating in the conference that “following a correction in prices on the ASE, there are many major opportunities for investment,” calling on Chinese entrepreneurs to seek Greek collaborators in this sector.

During the bilateral meetings that took place in Beijing between members of the Greek government accompanying the President of the Republic and members of the Chinese government, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Doukas and the Chinese Deputy Minister for Trade, Mr. Yu Guangzhou, signed a memorandum on strengthening and promoting development cooperation between the two countries in a number of sectors, such as social security, environmental protection, protection of cultural heritage, tourism, health care, and the promotion of cooperation between SMEs in the two countries.