The UAE and Greece Alliance
After a meeting in Athens, the UAE and Greece agreed to strengthen relations in the fields of energy, science and technology, and food security. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, met with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to discuss relations and to study the new international developments. They addressed the standoff in the Eastern Mediterranean between Ankara and Athens over access to its resource-rich waters.
The rivalry between the EU and regional powers has taken Greece and Turkey back to a full-scale war. They also addressed developments in Libya and Iran, and presented recent reports on the global war against Covid-19, including vaccine production activities. Following a further meeting with Nikos Dendias, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Sheikh Abdullah said that the UAE and Greece look forward to developing a strategic relationship focused on friendship and mutual respect. The meeting was an occasion for the two friendly nations to share views on the most relevant facets of our increasing bilateral relationship and on regional and international issues of common concern. Their friendship expands ever more through the occasional keeping of these talks and visits. Since establishing relations in 1975, Sheikh Abdullah has said that the two countries have come a long way. The relationship between the two countries today includes a wide variety of cooperation in all fields and sectors, including economy , politics, defence, culture, governance and food security.
Non-oil trade between the UAE and Greece hit $450 million by the end of last year. The UAE would like to raise their bilateral trade volumes even more to a level which completely represents the high potential and capability of their strong partnership. More than 24,000 Greek visitors visited the UAE last year on 14 weekly flights run by the national carriers of the two nations. The UAE is home to more than 4,000 Greek people. Mr Dendias lauded the relations between the two countries and their collaboration, including defense, across different industries. He commended his country’s support provided by the UAE to help alleviate the effects of Covid-19.
