Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense held bilateral talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Tuesday.
They tackled bilateral relations and ways to boost them in various fields. They also covered regional and international developments.
Crown Prince Mohammed stressed that Saudi Arabia and Greece enjoy close and historical ties, adding that he was “very happy” to be visiting the country and with the warm reception he was accorded.
“This means a lot to Saudi Arabia and me,” he stressed.
“I promised Greece that I would not return empty-handed. We now have cooperation that will be a turning point for our countries and the entire region,” he remarked.
Crown Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia and Greece have historic opportunities they are working on, such as connecting an electrical grid that would provide southern and western Europe with renewable energy through Greece.
He revealed that Saudi Arabia and Greece had agreements in all fields, revealing that efforts were underway to transform Greece into a hydrogen hub in Europe.
Crown Prince Mohammed and Mitsotakis oversaw the signing several investment, technology, military, economic and security agreements.
The Saudi royal arrived in Greece earlier on Tuesday as part of a European trip. His next stop is France.
He was accorded a formal reception at Athens airport and then received at the prime minister’s headquarters.
The Saudi Royal Diwan had earlier said the visits to Greece and France, at the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, aim to bolster bilateral relations and discuss issues of common interest.
Saudi Arabia and Greece enjoy strong relations that go back to 1965. Mitsotakis paid a visit to the Kingdom in 2021, and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah visited Greece earlier this year.
The trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Greece reached 34 billion riyals, or 9 billion dollars, in the past six years. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports to Greece in 2021 topped 660 million riyals, or 176 million dollars, marking a growth of 21 per cent.
Crown Prince Mohammed’s delegation to Greece includes the ministers of energy, sports, foreign affairs, culture, trade, investment, telecommunications and information technology, and the national security advisor.
