“In today’s highly uncertain and fluid geopolitical environment, cooperation between Greece and the UAE is a guarantee of stability and growth for the wider region of South-eastern Europe and the Mediterranean”.
Among other things, Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said today, speaking at the Investopia Mediterranean-Athens conference, being held at a hotel in central Athens and bringing together businesses from the United Arab Emirates and Greece.
He said “this cooperation can also be harnessed to develop the wider India–Middle East–Europe corridor (IMEC), enabling countries with ties of mutual trust that share the same philosophy — respect for international law and the rules, trade, the promotion of growth for the benefit of their peoples, and the use of technology and new tools to advance healthcare and education — to shape the future together”.
Mr Papastavrou outlined the government’s initiatives to date on energy self-sufficiency, noting that in 2005 more than 90% of the country’s electricity came from lignite, compared with less than 5% today.
More than 55% of electricity now comes from renewable sources, he said, adding that Greece ranks third globally for solar power generation and ninth for wind power generation.
“At the same time, though, we are thinking about the future, which is why in recent years we have made a major effort to develop the hydrocarbons sector”, he stressed.
“We have very strong companies operating here, such as HELLENiQ ENERGY and Energean, which are very active and, together with strong international partners such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, have taken an important step forward”, he said, noting that Greece would carry out its first exploratory drilling in April 2025. He added that “after almost 50 years, Chevron is working with HELLENiQ ENERGY on seismic surveys south of Crete and the Peloponnese”.
The Environment and Energy Minister said Greece is an energy gateway to Central and South-eastern Europe, stressing that “this is due not only to its geographical location but also to investment in infrastructure, including the Vertical Corridor, Revithoussa and the Alexandroupolis FSRU, which allow significant volumes of natural gas to be imported and then flow north”.
Greece’s capacity has increased from 5 billion to 8 billion cubic metres and will reach 9.5 billion this year, in 2027, when the Greece–Serbia–North Macedonia interconnector is completed, he said.
Mr Papastavrou also highlighted the importance of landmark projects to Greece’s role in energy, including the direct electricity interconnector with Egypt — GREGY — and the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), which will connect Cyprus and end its energy isolation before continuing on to Israel.
On the prospects for Greece-UAE cooperation in data centres, the minister stressed that UAE companies are at the forefront of this technology.
“I believe they are at the global forefront. And I know that agreements have already been reached with Greece on data centres, so we are working very closely together to see how we can harness the UAE’s expertise in business intelligence, data centres and new technologies”, he concluded.
Referring to relations between the UAE and Greece, Mr Papastavrou said they could serve as a cornerstone and support for the entire region, and create a platform for cooperation in energy, trade and new technologies.
As part of the conference, Mr Papastavrou and Deputy Minister Nikos Tsafos met representatives of the UAE state-owned renewable energy company Masdar, including its CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, its head of Europe Hussein Al Meer and TERNA Energy chief executive Aristotelis Chantavas.
The discussion focused on Masdar’s investment in TERNA Energy, a tangible vote of confidence in the Greek economy and an important step in the strategic cooperation between Greece and the United Arab Emirates.
TERNA Energy is Masdar’s platform for growth in Central and Eastern Europe, based in Greece, strengthening our country’s regional role and cooperation with Egypt through GREGY, with a focus on renewables and energy storage.