Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ statement following the 13th Joint Greek-Russian Inter-Ministerial Committee – Signing of a Cooperation Protocol[...]

The 13th Joint Greek-Russian Interministerial Committee (JIC), held in Moscow and chaired, on the Greek side, by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, concluded its proceedings with the signing of a Cooperation Protocol that includes several individual Agreements in the fields of tourism, energy, transport, scientific and technological cooperation, inter-regional cooperation, culture and tax administration.

The signing of the Cooperation Protocol by the two Co-Chairs, Mr. Varvitsiotis on the Greek side, and the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Savelyev, on the Russian side, is of particular importance, as it took place a few days before the official visit of the Prime Minister to Russia, on December 8.

"It is a successful agreement that paves the way for a new deeper cooperation between Greece and Russia and lays the foundations for a productive and successful visit of the Prime Minister", Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasized in his statements immediately after the signing of the Cooperation Protocol.

The Alternate Minister's full statement is as follows:

"Today here in Moscow, together with the Deputy Minister of Transport Michalis Papadopoulos, the Secretary General of Tourism Vicky Loizou and the Governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) George Pitsilis, we signed, on the Greek side, several important Agreements and a Cooperation Protocol with Russia.

As Co-Chair of the 13th Joint Interministerial Committee (JIC) for Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, together with the Co-Chair of the Russian Federation Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev, we turned a new page in our relations with Russia through the Signing of the Cooperation Protocol.

It is a successful agreement, which paves the way for a new deeper cooperation between Greece and Russia and lays the foundations for a productive and successful visit of the Prime Minister on December 8.

The successful completion of the 13th Joint Interministerial Committee and the signing of the Protocol are the result of intensive preparations and consultations during the previous period between the relevant working groups of the competent Ministries with the Russian side, under the coordination, on the Greek side, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Embassy in Moscow.

Its organization and successful completion reflect both countries' willingness to further strengthen our economic and trade relations in areas of mutual interest, such as energy, tourism, transport, scientific and technological cooperation, interregional cooperation, culture and tax administration issues.

Concluding, I would like to thank the Russian side for its cooperation. I also want to thank all those in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the competent Ministries who participated, on the Greek side, in this negotiation of several months. Finally, let me inform you that the next 14th Joint Interministerial Committee (JIC) will be held in Greece".

Deputy Minister of Transport Michalis Papadopoulos, Secretary General of Tourism, Vicky Loizou and the Governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) George Pitsilis participated in the Greek Delegation and signed the respective relevant agreements.

COOPERATION PROTOCOL AND AGREEMENTS

The multi-page Cooperation Protocol covers the following areas: Energy and the prospects for energy cooperation in the light of the climate policy priorities, oil and gas, electricity, Transport, Tourism, Scientific and Technological Co-operation, Inter-regional Co-operation, Culture, Health, Investment and Business Cooperation.

In addition, four individual Bilateral Cooperation Agreements were signed:

-an agreement in the field of development and operation of petawatt and exawatt power facilities between the Ministry of Development and Investment of the Hellenic Republic and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. It was signed by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece and the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Natalia Bocharova.

- the Joint Action Plan between the Ministry of Tourism of the Hellenic Republic and the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation, for the period 2022-2024, in the field of Tourism.

- the Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation in the Field of Tax Administration between the Independent Authority for Public Revenue of the Hellenic Republic (AADE) and the Federal Taxation Service of the Russian Federation,

- Protocol Amending the Agreement of April 10, 1991 on the Prevention of Incidents at Sea outside Territorial Waters between the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This protocol was signed by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Russia's Deputy Minister of Defence, Alexander Fomin.

The two sides also agreed to continue their cooperation for the signing of agreements in a number of other areas, including the Joint Action Plan between the Hellenic Republic and the Russian Federation, for the period 2022-2024.

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