Greece and Japan sign Joint Statement on Strategic Cooperation

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister’s residence in Tokyo, where they signed the Joint Statement on Strategic Cooperation between Greece and Japan.

“With this statement, our countries significantly improve their strategic relations, and we open up a field for close cooperation in various fields: political, economic, climate, digital education, culture and tourism,” Mitsotakis said after the meeting. He noted that the statement will serve as a guide for bilateral cooperation in the coming years. The joint statement strengthens cooperation between Greece and Japan in areas of mutual interest.

The meeting of the two prime ministers was followed by a meeting of the delegations of the two sides and an official dinner.

Mitsotakis said the two countries could revitalize their bilateral relationship almost two decades later, while highlighting similarities between them and an agreement “on particularly important global and regional issues.” He said the discussions revealed great opportunities for economic cooperation between Japan, the world’s third largest economy, and Greece, “which is becoming a reliable and very stable place for investment and trading partner.”

On Tuesday, Mitsotakis spoke at a Greek-Japanese business conference organized at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) office in Tokyo with the participation of Enterprise Greece. The Prime Minister of Greece urged them to invest in Greece. “Consider Greece as an investment if you are considering investing in our region. … Before the financial crisis in Greece, Japanese companies were buying about $10 billion worth of Greek assets a year. Once the crisis hit and we lost our investment rating, this was practically reduced to zero. Thus, we moved from 10 billion to zero,” he said.

Mitsotakis said that Greece’s credit rating will soon return to investment grade, and this will open up new opportunities for the placement of Japanese funds in Greece. During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Enterprise Greece and Jetro.

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