The Greek seafood<\/b> is a key pillar growth of the economy<\/b>, boosting investment, exports, and the country’s geostrategic position globally<\/b>.<\/p>\n
At a time when the global economy is being reshaped under the weight of uncertainty<\/b> and intensifying competition, the Minister of Development and Investment, Takis Theodoricakos<\/b> puts Greek shipping at the heart of the development strategy<\/b>, as one of the strongest levers of national power and international influence<\/b>. The emphasis is on linking the country’s maritime advantage<\/b> with industrial reconstruction, attracting investment<\/b> and strengthening the extroversion of the economy<\/b>, with the aim of shaping a modern production model<\/b> of high added value<\/b>.<\/p>\n
“The great Greek shipping was built with hard work, boldness, entrepreneurial genius<\/b>, with people who converted the sea into a national power<\/b> for our country. This is how a global economic miracle became<\/b> and a small country like Greece has a huge power<\/b> in shipping and is basically in the first place<\/b>“, noted Minister of Development, Takis Theodoricakos<\/b>, in his speech as home guest at the Maritime Club’s working lunch in Piraeus<\/b>.<\/p>\nProductivity and competitiveness<\/h3>\n
Theodoricakos noted that “in a world of uncertainty and intense international competition, we must build an economy that, along with its fiscal credibility, will have strong productivity and competitiveness. A resilient economy with solid foundations in industry, modern technologies, innovation, competitive products, service provision and dynamic export orientation of products and services.”<\/p>\n
The Minister pointed out that “the Greece of tomorrow must produce more, export more, incorporate more knowledge and technology and greater added value in its production. Greek shipping is the spearhead of a modern, competitive Greek economy, because its size and footprint in the global arena is many times the size of the country and its GDP.”<\/p>\n
Theodoricakos stressed that a secure Greece is a Greece that has a productive and competitive economy and continued by saying that “Greek shipping entrepreneurs are first and foremost patriots. People who love our country and show it with their actions, performing great social work.”<\/p>\n
The dynamics<\/h3>\n
Referring to the strength of Greek shipping, he said that “we have 5,691 ships, representing about 20% of the world’s capacity. Maritime transport is a prerequisite for the prosperity of billions of people around the world, as more than 80% of the volume of global trade is transported by sea. Greek ships transport products, fuels, energy raw materials, play a leading role in supporting the global supply chain and have a decisive influence on the operation of the international economy.”<\/p>\n
The Minister of Development continued by saying that “our ports, combined with the country’s important geostrategic position, give our country the opportunity to become an even more powerful transport, transit and energy centre. A strategic hub for Europe and the world. Greek ships in 2024 called at ports in 180 countries. Everywhere Greece is everywhere through shipping, which is why it is an element of national strength.”<\/p>\n
“At a time when international balances are rapidly shifting, when energy, raw materials and supply chains are directly linked to security and stability, Greece has a great advantage, our shipping. It is a powerful security weapon against everyone,” he said.<\/p>\n
Theodoricakos also referred to Greece’s deep and long-standing relationship with the US and its “firm and strategic decision to join the Western world. A choice that becomes even more important in a period of international instability and volatility. It is my conviction that the alliance between the US and the EU, and the European states individually, will soon re-emerge as a key constant and a key pillar of the global security system. In this context, Greece will be able to function as a force for stability, credibility and cooperation in the wider region.”<\/p>\n
The Minister of Development made special reference to the responsibilities concerning the development dimension of shipping, always in full cooperation with the Ministry of Shipping and the Shipowners’ Association. “We have organized and are promoting a series of changes concerning the simplification of procedures, the complete digitalization of files and the reduction of supporting documents,” he said.<\/p>\n
Referring to the major issue of the green transition, which also concerns shipping, he noted that “it goes without saying that reducing emissions and protecting the environment is an important objective that must be served with realism and methodical approach. “Yes to cleaner technologies, yes to green fuels, yes to investments in the green transition, but with realistic requirements and with a realistic adjustment time.”<\/p>\n
Theodoricakos also spoke about the critical role of the shipbuilding industry and ship repair. “A country such as Greece, which is among the world’s major shipping powers, must give weight to the regeneration of the shipbuilding industry. A resilient Greek economy requires that the shipbuilding industry be at the heart of it. This is a national stake for all of us. Because shipbuilding and ship repair are not just about building or repairing a ship. They concern entire chains of production, knowledge, specialisation and employment, new and better paid jobs, an industrial base and know-how that stays in Greece, real added value for the country and for our economy.”<\/p>\n
In this context, he said, shipbuilding and ship repair is included in the strategic investments. “It is no coincidence that our government by law put Skaramanga Shipyards in the strategic investments. I want to be clear: Every shipbuilding and ship repair unit in our country will have the absolute support of the Ministry of Development and the government as a whole in every legal way. We are interested in increasing our share in a sector that is competitive throughout the region and globally.”<\/p>\n
Theodoricakos made special mention of the involvement of the US State Development Bank (DFC) in the ONEX shipyards in Elefsina, which have been inactive for many years and now employ thousands of people, while over 800 ship repairs have been completed. “I want to emphasize that this was made possible because of DFC’s involvement and our relationship is very meaningful. DFC was interested in expanding the investment activity in these shipyards and in the port, transport, transit, trade, energy and possibly also in the defence sector. The Ministry of Development took a legislative initiative a few months ago so that this can be put into practice.”<\/p>\n
The Minister of Development also referred to the multi-budget bill that is currently being passed in Parliament. “This legislation includes, among other things, the simplification of the extension of industrial investments, the resolution of critical pending issues that will help in the implementation of the investment in Thriasio.” He also stressed the creation of a single “one stop shop” for Strategic Investments at the General Secretariat for Private Investment, centralising all procedures at the Ministry of Development and eliminating time-consuming routes between different departments.<\/p>\n
“We also legislated that investment projects will be assessed within 90 days and we are putting this into practice. At the moment, 928 investments with a total budget of more than 3 billion euros are being implemented, while in the last two years we have approved more than 20 strategic investments with a total budget of more than 3 billion euros,” he said.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, Theodoricakos stressed that “shipping, the shipbuilding industry, the blue economy is not only a great chapter of our history, but a great chapter of our future. It is our duty to preserve it, to strengthen it and to hand it over even stronger to future generations.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greek shipping is a key pillar of economic growth, boosting investment, exports and the country’s geostrategic position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}