Turkey, Greece economic commission meets after 11 years

ATHENS

The Turkish-Greek Joint Economic Commission (JEC) convened in Athens on Jan. 24 for the first time since 2010.
Turkish Deputy Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu and Greek Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Konstantinos Fragogiannis co-chaired the 5th session of the committee meeting.

In a joint statement, the heads of the delegations voiced their satisfaction with the reactivation of the JEC after 11 years.
The commission held its previous meeting in Ankara.

“Both sides expressed their commitment to continue working on building and strengthening the elements contained in the positive agenda, focusing on promoting economic cooperation and trade exchanges between the two countries,” the statement said.

The parties discussed wide-ranging issues, including bilateral trade and ways to further diversify it and increase it in a balanced way as well as investment initiatives and the encouragement of companies to engage in joint initiatives in Greece and Turkey.

Enhancement of the collaboration in the energy sector in order to ensure energy supply security, further cooperation in the field of environmental protection, waste management, water quality and resources, as well as other important issues related to climate change such as forest fire prevention were other items on the JEC’s agenda.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to explore ways to enhance their cooperation, with the aim to increase the tourist flows between the countries, the statement added.