On 12th January, in Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman co-chaired the first meeting of a High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) between the two countries. According to a press release from the Prime Minister’s office, Mr Mitsotakis stressed that this is the first time that Greece has established a High Level Strategic Cooperation Council with a country from the Middle East.

“This shows how much value we attach to cooperation with Saudi Arabia at this critical juncture for the world and for the broader region,” he said at the opening of the meeting. “Saudi Arabia is a strategic partner for Greece and the EU and a key player for stability and prosperity in the entire region. The global landscape is reshaping and in this context the role of the Arab world and Saudi Arabia is crucial. The security of Europe and the Middle East are interdependent. In this landscape, our strategic cooperation becomes even more important.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined that the HLSCC sends a clear message that Greece and Saudi Arabia are strengthening their bilateral cooperation at the highest possible level in a wide range of sectors, such as defence, investment, trade, energy, tourism, culture and sports.

“This cooperation is of increased importance at the current juncture that our region is experiencing due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. There is a risk of further destabilisation of the region, as the war in Gaza has added to a series of crises whose consequences we are called upon to deal with, such as the war in Ukraine. In this context, it is all the more important that Greece and Saudi Arabia share the same vision for security and peace in the region,” the Prime Minister noted.

The HLSCC is composed of seven committees (Political, Military, Investment, Energy, Tourism, Cultural and Sports), headed by the relevant Ministers of the two countries, and these Committees agreed 46 initiatives for joint action at the meeting. Among them were 19 initiatives related to security and defence issues and 15 initiatives in the field of trade and investment. Saudi Arabia and Greece also agreed to form a technical team to study the possibility of Saudi Arabia exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe via Greece.

At a private meeting between the two Prime Ministers, Mr Mitsotakis placed particular emphasis on the initiatives undertaken by Greece in the fields of energy and digital connectivity, with the aim of becoming a hub for these two sectors in South-Eastern Europe. He also underlined that Greece can be a gateway to Europe for Asia and the Middle East, and stressed that the two countries’ participation in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) presents even more opportunities for cooperation.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
The IMEC is a planned economic corridor that aims to foster connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe via a proposed route from India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the G20 New Delhi summit of September 2023, by the governments of India, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union. The project was launched to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks, avoiding the Suez Canal, and is seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
(Haniotika Nea, 13/01/25, www.primeminister.gr)