Greece hopes to balance Korea trade, lure tourists
2010-09-29 18:38
Since then, trade between the two countries ballooned to over $3.2 billion last year but as the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis noted, the
balance of trade is heavily on the Korean side.
“There is a willingness on the Korean side to find ways to balance the trade,” he told The Korea Herald.
Kouvelis was in town to represent the Greek government at the memorial events
marking the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
He also met with Kim Jae-shin, presidential secretary for
foreign affairs, to discuss issues concerning the
promotion of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, and to lay the groundwork for the Greek-South Korean Joint Interministerial Committee set to convene in the first quarter of 2011.
At the
meeting, Kouvelis presented in detail the planning and results of the Greek government’s policy for a way out of the current crisis, highlighting the investment opportunities opening up for Greece.
Furthermore, Kouvelis briefed his counterpart on the Greek initiative for the creation of a special fund within the framework of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, encouraging Korean enterprises to take part in the Forum on the Promotion of Green Development and Entrepreneurship to be held in Thessaloniki on Nov. 26.
Kouvelis also had successive meetings with Hanwha Group vice president Hwang Jin-woo and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Yoon-woo.
These meetings gave Kouvelis an opportunity to look into the potential for attracting investments by the two groups in Greece in the fields of telecommunications, construction and green
energy.
“Greece is blessed with sun, wind and tidal energy and we believe we
can meet and exceed the European
Union’s alternative energy policy for 2020,” he said.
Concerning the EU-Korea free trade agreement, Kouvelis only sees positive results because the two countries have complimentary industries.
“I found out that many Korean couples would like to get married in Santorini,” he said. “So I plan to pair up tour operators in both countries to arrange for tailor-made packages for Korean tourists,” he said.
Greece attracts more than 16 million tourists each year, contributing 15 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product.
Yet, only 4,000 Koreans visited Greece in 2008.
(The Korea Herald)