Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis met with Cosco Group president Xu Lirong at the ministry on Friday afternoon in what was termed by the minister “a reciprocation of the friendly welcome we had with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during our latest visit to Shanghai,” ANA reports.
Plakiotakis referred to the speedy approval of Cosco’s new master plan for Piraeus and noted the investment “signifies the start of a new era in Greek-Chinese relations beyond Piraeus, to the benefit of both countries and peoples.”
The minister said they discussed the possibility of using Greek maritime equipment in Chinese shipyards and the expansion of the pier at the container terminal. “At a time when Greek shipowners invest in Chinese shipyards, the time has come for Chinese shipyards to welcome Greek manufacturers of maritime equipment,” he said. “This is only the beginning. The presence of Chinese banks, especially the first Chinese banks in Greece ever, is the start of very significant investments and agreements that will follow in the near future,” he added.
According to the Piraeus Commerce and Industry Chamber, more than 1,000 Greek-owned ships were built in China the last 15 years, an investment that corresponds to over 50 billion dollars.
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