Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Saudi Crown Prince Salman sign important agreement

For his first visit to a European country since the brutal assassination of prominent Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chose Greece. Because he knew that investment-hungry Greece would accept him.

For four years, no European leader agreed to be in the same photo with Salman. Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 by agents of the Saudi Arabian government, allegedly on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Since then, Salman has diplomatically set himself apart.

But the Prime Minister of Greece had no problems with this. Kyriakos Mitsotakis greeted the crown prince in his office, they talked about business and, deepening mutual relations, walked together to the Acropolis.

According to government sources, the meeting between Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Crown Price Salman was held in a good atmosphere, which indicates the great interest of both parties in further deepening the already close bilateral relations, and expanding the dynamically developing Greek-Saudi cooperation, which was also confirmed during the visit of Mitsotakis to Riyadh in October 2021.

The two leaders signed an agreement to establish the Supreme Strategic Cooperation Council, which strengthens relations between the two countries and promotes bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

The crown prince arrived on Tuesday, and on Wednesday private and public companies from both sides signed 16 business agreements and memorandums of cooperation between Greece and Saudi Arabia. worth about 4 billion euros.

More than 100 Greek and nearly 40 Saudi companies met in Athens and signed agreements covering the sectors of energy, shipping, aquaculture, waste management, construction and defense technology, food and agricultural products, and culture.

The most important one signed was an agreement to build an almost €1 billion (SAR 3.75 billion) submarine data cable system called “Vostok-Med data corridor” (EMC project, East to Med data Corridor) and one for energy, which covers conventional and renewable energy sources worth 2.6 billion euros.

The signatures signal “a special moment in Greece’s relations with Saudi Arabia,” Kostas Fragoyiannis, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, said Wednesday. He added that “this is undoubtedly a success and it is encouraging that we are moving in the right direction.”

PS Yes, but what about Khashoggi? But what about human rights and executions? What about the war in Yemen? We do it the American way: nothing personal, just business. In addition, the Saudis are friends of the United States, which means that they have been issued an indulgence in advance for any sins.

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