dfa.gov.ph photo
MANILA, Philippines—Local government and business leaders of the Greek city of Thessaloniki are open to enhancing business ties with the Philippines.
In a statement released Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that Philippine Ambassador to Greece Meynardo Montealegre explored areas of economic cooperation between the Philippines and Greece’s second largest city during his official visit to Thessaloniki on July 17 and 18.
“The local government officials and business leaders agreed to help co-organize a seminar on business opportunities in the Philippines in October 2012. They also agreed to hold exchange visits between Filipino and Greek businessmen,” the statement said.
The statement also noted that during the said meetings, Montealegre highlighted the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012, and the “growing positive business confidence in the Philippines.”
Government and business officials who met with Montealegre included Apostle Tzitzikostas, Vice Governor of Thessaloniki Prefecture, Yiannis S. Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Papaioannou, vice president of the Thessaloniki Port Authority, Dimitrios Bakatselos, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Lakassas, chairman of SEVE Greek International Business Association, Anastasios Tzikas, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Thessaloniki International Fair, Spiros Pengas, Deputy Mayor for Culture – Education – Tourism of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, Deputy Mayor for the Environment – Life Quality – Open Spaces of Thessaloniki and President of the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, and Vangelis Ioakimidis, Director and Member of the Board of the Museum of Photography of Thessaloniki.
Thessaloniki, located in northern Greece, is the country’s second major economic, industrial, commercial and political center, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe.