Handelsblatt Global reports that too few German entrepreneurs see Greece, and especially its energy sector, as an investment opportunity. Others are more perceptive than the Germans. During a recent visit to China for the “Beijing Foreign Policy Forum”, for example, I realized how crucial Greece is for the Chinese strategy and foreign policy: Greece is at the heart of the Chinese “One Belt, One Road” Initiative – the plan to build a modern-age “Silk Road” linking all of Eurasia. The Chinese have chosen Greece, and in particular the Port of Piraeus, as their hub into Western Europe. Already in 2015, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the president of Greece, was the first European leader to speak about the significance this new Chinese “Silk Road” would have for the rest of the world.
The prestigious German newspaper notes that the Greeks, for their part, are gratefully accepting this Chinese investment, feeling all the more snubbed by Germany during the euro crisis.
It adds: “Greece understands that it is at a geographical and geopolitical crossroads. But it must now seize this opportunity to become an energy hub. If it does, it can become the gateway for natural gas flowing into Europe from three sources: first, from Central Asia and Turkey; second, from the eastern Mediterranean; and third, from its own seafloors, which cover big reserves of hydrocarbons. If Greece grasps this chance, it could at last find a model to grow its economy and make its people prosperous.”
And explains: “Here is why Greece holds so many geopolitical keys. The US views Greece as vital to securing the energy supply of the wider West, and to containing Russian influence in the region. Russia has left no doubt that it wants to be a major power in the region: It has bought parts of the Zohr gas field off the coast of Egypt and of oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan. Russia also has submarines patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean. It has even come to a d?tente with Turkey, which also wants to dominate the flow of hydrocarbons into Europe.”
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RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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Source: handelsblatt.com
