ROME (ITALPRESS) – Italy and Greece are two Mediterranean countries bound by strong historical ties and, at the same time, by shared values. This was stated by the Greek ambassador to Italy, Eleni Sourani, in an interview with Claudio Brachino for Diplomacy Magazine, the geopolitics column of the Italpress agency.
“They are two Mediterranean countries, EU members and NATO allies in the Mediterranean, working together for the prosperity and stability of our region. We are linked by strong historical ties and, at the same time, by shared values,” said the Ambassador.
This year, Greece and Italy also held an intergovernmental summit. Hosted at Villa Doria Pamphilj on May 12, the summit saw the signing of 14 documents in various areas, including security, infrastructure and transport, energy, industry, civil protection, and agriculture. “During the intergovernmental summit, we were able to take stock of bilateral relations and, at the same time, set the course for the future,” the ambassador noted, adding that the meeting produced “remarkable results.” “It should also be noted that since 1861, when Greece and Italy signed their first legally binding agreement, we have built a very broad legal framework covering all sectors. The agreements signed now are more forward-looking, for example in the fields of cybersecurity, digitalisation, space, agricultural research, the new electricity interconnection between Greece and Italy, civil protection, and fire prevention, to name just a few,” explained the head of the diplomatic mission in Rome.
On the economic front, “Italy is the leading destination market for Greek exports, with a value of about €5.2 billion, equal to 10% of our total exports,” Sourani noted. “On the other hand, we import goods from Italy worth about €7 billion. Italy supplies Greece with industrial goods, machinery, chemical and pharmaceutical products, while we mainly export petroleum products, agri-food, dairy, and fish products. Looking ahead, we see great potential particularly in the fields of information technology, defense equipment, and innovative high value-added products,” the ambassador specified. Italian companies, she continued, maintain a strong and diversified presence in Greece in the sectors of transport, energy, services, banking, telecommunications, retail, and fashion. “I can mention some of them: Eni Gas & Luce, Italgas, Enel, Edison, Snam, Sparkle, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Grimaldi, and Ferrovie. There are many more. At the same time, we have several important Greek companies with a significant presence in Italy, in metallurgy, cement, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and energy storage: Metlen, Biokalco, Titan, Fage, Famar, Intracom, Sunlight, Energian, and Fibran, just to name a few,” said the Ambassador.
On the level of bilateral relations, however, the real “crown jewel”, as the Ambassador calls it, is culture. “The human relations between Italians and Greeks are, I believe, unique. I cannot imagine another people so close to us with such strong personal ties. When it comes to tourism, it’s true that Italians love Greeks and Greeks love Italians. We have 2.6 million Italians visiting Greece and 350,000 Greeks visiting Italy. Considering the size of our populations, it’s a good balance. Our cultural cooperation, founded on 27 centuries of shared history, continues to evolve,” Sourani observed. It’s no coincidence, then, that one of the closest areas of collaboration between the two countries concerns the restitution of illegally exported cultural artifacts. “We are very grateful to Italy for being the first country to return a fragment of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece,” the ambassador said.
Exhibitions are also of great importance. “This year we celebrated several notable events: the exhibition at Palazzo Ducale, ‘Painted Gold. From El Greco and the Art between Crete and Venice’, and the centenary of our two great composers Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis, with two concerts in Milan and Rome,” recalled the Ambassador. “Last but not least, the language: 700 classical high schools in Italy offer courses in Greek, both ancient and modern. On February 9, the World Day of the Greek Language, is widely celebrated throughout Italy, and this year it was recognised by UNESCO as the official World Day of Greek Language, for the contribution of Greek to the development of other languages,” Sourani added. “Culture is truly the crown jewel,” concluded the ambassador.
– photo Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
