Author: Athanasios Koutoupas

Trade exchange between Greece and Egypt reached €1.3bn: Pantelis Gassios

Greece intends to increase its commercial cooperation with Egypt. Known for its fabulous cuisine, Greece started with food products, aiming at increasing investments between both countries in this sector.

Around 15 Greek food companies exhibited their products in the Greek Rowing Club, located in Giza, which included olives, olive oil, honey, cheese, packed products, and other goods.

To learn more about the current state of Greek-Egyptian economic relations, Daily News Egypt took the opportunity to meet the counsellor for economics and commercial affairs at the Greek embassy, Pantelis Gassios.

Trade between Greece and Egypt last year reached around €1.3bn. How much of this amount do Greek exports to Egypt represent?

The Greek exports represented €750m, while Egyptian exports to Greece represented €577m.

Do you expect any increase in trade in 2017?

Let me tell you that the trade exchange witnessed a remarkable decrease over the past ten years, mainly because of the drop in the oil prices.

So both the Egyptian and Greek sides aim to diversify the exchange of products to not depend on oil and its by-products so much, as their prices are always unstable.

Exporting oil and its products between Egypt and Greece, how much does it represent from the whole amount of exports between both countries?

In 2016, €492m out of the €750m Greek exports to Egypt were petroleum, oil, and their by-products, while €412m of the €577m Egyptian exports to Greece were crude oil.

This is why both sides would like to diversify the types of products they are exchanging.

Recently natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea were discovered. It has been stated that Greece and Egypt will hold discussions to sort out this matter. Any comments in this regard?

It will be Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus, as far as I know; these fields are located in the zone between Egypt and Cyprus. What governments are working on is to transfer natural gas to the Greek island of Crete and from Greece to the rest of Europe.

The implementation of energy plants takes time and is difficult. It also involves ports and building underwater pipelines. However, we are very optimistic that it will happen, bearing fruitful results for everyone.

Are there any possibilities for Greek gas to be refined in Egypt?

I am reading in the press that there are deals between Egypt and Cyprus to bring natural gas to Egypt—in the form of liquefied natural gas—for the domestic market. So I view this as a great idea.

What is the amount of Greek investments here in Egypt?

Official data estimate Greek investments to stand at €800m, according to official figures from the Central Bank of Egypt and Greece. However, there is Greek capital inflow from other countries, like Cyprus. So investments amount to around €1bn.

What are the types of these investments?

Cement, paper manufacturing, oil and gas explorations and constructions, food industry, manufacturing of building materials, aluminium, irrigation systems, banking, and training services.

You mentioned that you would like to diversify exchanging products between both countries and not depend only on petroleum and oil ones. How do you see the future of exchanging food products between both countries?

The food industry is one of our top industries in Greece. Our food products are being exported all over Europe and also to the US.

The market in Egypt is very inviting since the population is high, and the country therefore consumes a lot.

Egypt too is strong in this sector, so we are also inviting Egyptian counterparts to invest in this sector in Greece.

I consider it a very promising sector concerning investments from both sides, and I believe it would be a win-win investment.

Recently the International Monetary Fund granted Egypt a $12bn loan. The Egyptian government is working on economic reforms. Is Greece taking this into account regarding further investments?

Greece is very aware of the reforms Egypt is undertaking. Changes are painful but necessary. However, in terms of a long-term vision, the changes made by the Egyptian side are going in the right direction.

Greece is famous for its production of mcetkh. What is the top Arab importer of it?

We use mcetkh in many things, including cooking and making sweets. I can say that Saudi Arabia is one of the top importers worldwide for Greek mcetkh—they use it in many of their products.

(www.dailynewsegypt.com)

March 19, 2017
Egypt, EU launch new phase of strategic partnership: Foreign ministry

The Egyptian foreign minister’s visit to Brussels has launched a new phase of strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union, paving the way for an EU-Egypt association agreement in the upcoming period, the ministry said on Tuesday.

The agreement — which has been under negotiation since February 2016 — would frame the country’s relationship with European institutions over the next three years.

In an official statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his European counterparts have compiled a document of each side’s priorities, to guide further negotiations on the agreement.

On his visit, Shoukry met with 28 European foreign ministers, making it “the first meeting of its kind with a non-EU minister this year,” the statement read.

The meetings tackled EU-Egyptian relations. Shoukry discussed ways the EU could support Egypt economically and politically, given that the country’s stability is an essential European interest, the statement read.

Shoukry also discussed economic, social and political developments in Egypt and the challenges the country faces in each of these sectors.

“Egyptian national institutions bear the responsibility of safeguarding human rights in Egypt,” Shoukry told his EU counterparts, according to the statement, adding that “human rights include social and economic rights; they are not restricted to political rights.”

The minister arrived in Brussels Sunday for an official visit, on which he met with EU officials including the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Vice President of the European Commission and the EU Commissioner for Home and Migration Affairs, along with the foreign ministers of 28 EU countries.

“The visit was successful because Egyptian diplomats built a bloc of Egypt supporters within the EU, represented by countries that have made remarkable progress in cooperation with Egypt such as Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary,” the statement read.

At a meeting with the EU Commissioner for Home and Migration Affairs and the German and Austrian foreign ministers in Brussels, Shoukry reiterated Cairo’s refusal to establish camps to house irregular migrants attempting to travel to Europe, saying “refugees and migrants live freely and enjoy the services provided to Egyptian citizens.”

During his visit, Egypt’s FM also met with Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, to discuss political and security challenges in the Middle East.

An EU delegation is set to visit Egypt mid-March to continue talks on the association agreement.

During negotiations, Cairo has assured the EU that the agreement would be based on Egypt’s 2030 development plan.

(english.ahram.org.eg)

March 12, 2017
Greek-Canadian Senator Housakos Wants Canadian Government to Recognize Pontian Greek Genocide

During a recent speech in the Canadian Senate, Greek-Canadian Senator Leo Housakos addressed his colleagues in efforts to bring to vote the need for Canada to recognize the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks from 1916 to 1923 by Turkey.

Most people are not aware of the group of ethnic Greeks called Pontic Greeks. They are ethnic Greeks who once lived along the shores of what is now known as the Black Sea. Greek merchants originally settled in the area over 3,000 years ago, establishing trading posts along this shoreline and eventually the outposts grew into villages, towns and cities. This area was known as Pontus.

From 1914-1923 their prosperity and peaceful way of life came to a tragic end when over 353,000 Pontic Greeks perished during the Greek Genocide at the hands of the Ottomans, neo-Turks and Kemalists. Their fate was later sealed following negotiations at Lausanne and an ‘Exchange of Populations’ between Greece and Turkey, which resulted in all Orthodox Pontic Greeks being forced to uproot and repatriate to Greece.

According to transcripts published on protothema.gr, Senator Housakos recently presented the “Motion to Call Upon the Government to Recognize the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks and Designate May 19th as a Day of Remembrance” calling on the government of Canada to “(a) recognize the genocide of the Pontic Greeks of 1916 to 1923 and to condemn any attempt to deny or distort a historical truth as being anything less than genocide, a crime against humanity; and (b) to designate May 19th of every year hereafter throughout Canada as a day of remembrance of the over 353,000 Pontic Greeks who were killed or expelled from their homes.”
“…We must be clear that this is a tragic fate — a genocide. Not only have the ghosts of the Pontic Greek Orthodox earned the right to confront their murderers, but to paraphrase the words of a wise man, those who forget the tragedies of the past are doomed to repeat them in the future. And indeed, the world chose to ignore the genocide of Armenians and Pontians, and we were forced to confront the Nazi Holocaust of European Jews as a result. We ignored Rwanda and are now dealing with genocides like that of the Yazidis being carried out by ISIS,” Housakos stated.

The senator added that his motivation for bringing the motion to the table is to acknowledge history, heal, learn from what has occurred and most importantly be sure that it does not repeat itself.

(canada.greekreporter.com)

March 12, 2017
Dahab’s Underwater Museum: a Kiss of Life to the Red Sea Ecosystem

When the IDive Tribe started an underwater museum in Sinai’s Dahab four years ago, people thought they were insane. Now, the team of divers is planning their second museum in Hurghada.

February witnessed the latest addition to the museum: a statue to honor the Egyptian diver and holder of the world record of the deepest dive, Ahmed Gabr.

The new statue looks like the Oscar’s statue, which in turn resembles the Ancient Egyptian God Petah. The idea and the execution are of the artist and assistant lecturer at the University of Arts in Luxor, Hamed Mohamed. The statue is made up of 100 pieces of granite.

Aiming to help in conservation of the Red Sea coral reefs through decreasing the pressure on them by creating alternative dive sites, each statue is unique in its own way.

“The gallery consists of several artworks statues made by Egyptian hands and representing our culture,” said IDive founder Abdelrahman Elmekkawi.

Additionally, the museum serves as a new home for coral reefs. With rising global temperatures and the damage of human activity, coral reefs worldwide are in danger. The divers hope to “plant” the sea, with every centimeter needing at least ten years for growth.

The location of the museum is strategic, explains Elmekkawi. Scientists expect that in 70 years, most of the coral reefs all over the world will die, except those inhibiting the Red Sea and the Arab Sea due to class C and D zooxanthellae temperature resistance (above 30 degrees). This makes the region a donor site for the regeneration all over the world seas

The first phase of the museum placed three statues – a donkey-shaped table and two chairs – at the Magra Al Seil area. A year later, an additional three statues were located near the lighthouse: statues of the Gods Horus and Bess, and a life-size elephant sculpture, weighing almost a ton, constructed from metal junk by Mohamed and a student of his.

The costs of the statues were raised from the group’s personal money, and 150 IDive members contributed volunteer work.

The next planned statue will be a ten meter pyramid, which divers can enter. Hamed plans to make drawings on one of the sides, while the artwork done on the other sides would involve international collaboration through inviting 50 art schools from around the world to take part of the project.

In addition to the Dahab underwater museum, the pyramid might start a new conservation and attraction sight in Hurghada.

(egyptianstreets.com)

March 12, 2017