Regional Governor Nikos Hardalias and the Mayor of the city of Shanghai Gong Zheng agreed on three key directions for the further expansion of cooperation in a climate of friendship, mutual understanding and mutual respect.
This is the third meeting of the two officials in a year, following the Strategic Framework for Cooperation signed in January in Athens between Nikos Hardalias and Gong Zheng.
In particular, the Governor of Attica and the Mayor of Shanghai confirmed their strong will for further synergies in the areas of investment, trade and entrepreneurship, metropolitan sustainable development, tourism, as well as cultural exchanges.
“Since January when we signed the Attica-Shanghai Strategic Cooperation Framework, I would dare to say that great progress has been made in a number of areas, and even in a difficult time with multiple crises and changes in the international scene, at a geopolitical level,” Hardalias said and added: “Our goal is, in each of our meetings, to transform our plans into actions with tangible results. And that is exactly what we will continue to do.”
Memorandum of Cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce of Attica and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce
The Governor of Attica informed the Mayor of Shanghai about the major project to expand the cruise line at the port of Piraeus, which is financed with 80 million euros from NSRF resources. At the same time, he announced that all the required actions have already been taken under the auspices and support of the Region, so that a Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed in November in China between the Chambers of Commerce of Athens and Piraeus and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of strengthening cooperation, access of products and services to the markets of the two countries and further promoting investments.
The next step will concern the organization by the Attica Region once a year – starting in September 2026, of targeted visits by Greek businessmen to Shanghai and corresponding visits by Chinese businessmen to Attica for B2B meetings.
“This is a period when Greece records the highest growth rate in the entire European Union – to be precise, double the European average. We have put our finances in order, public debt has been significantly reduced, per capita income has increased, while we have removed years of bureaucratic constraints, attracting more and more investments”, stated the Regional Governor, referring to the particularly positive performance of the Greek economy.
On his part, Mayor Gong Zheng, after emphasizing the strong intention of the Shanghai local government to further strengthen the ties and synergies with the Attica Region, stated, among other things: “China’s friendship with Greece dates back a long time. So do Attica and Shanghai, which share bonds of sincere friendship. The Strategic Cooperation Framework that we signed with the Attica Region in January opened new opportunities in the cooperation between our countries. And I am sure that we will continue to work together precisely within this framework.”
