Business event of SEV, Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Enterprise Greece, for the business opportunities in Ireland

In a continuous effort to support the bilateral trade relations between Greece and Ireland and to explore new opportunities for collaboration, the Doing Business in Ireland event was held on Thursday, 16 May 2019 at SEV’s premises. The event was co-organized with the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Enterprise Greece, with the support of the Embassy of Ireland in Greece and the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs in view of a business delegation that the above-mentioned partners are holding in Ireland in June 2019. Mr. Terence-Nikolaos Quick, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be heading this delegation.

The Business event was launched by the Vice Chairman of SEV, Mr. Konstantinos Bitsios, Vice President, of ACCI, Mr. Ioannis Bratakos, the Board Member of Enterprise Greece, Ms. Margarita Antoniou, and Ambassador Constantina Athanassiadou, B Director General of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ambassador of Ireland to Greece, Ms. Orla O’Hanrahan, presented the economic environment of Ireland and the business opportunities emerging for Greek businesses. As she pointed out, the Irish economy continued to thrive at a rapid pace in 2018, with GDP growth of 4.7%. The country’s public finances are still improving due to strong output growth, while public debt has fallen to 66.6% of GDP. The business environment is favorable, with the country ranked 23rd in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 annual report. Ireland has a very open economy, with trade accounting for about 208% of its GDP. It has managed to attract significant FDI through a series of incentives offered to potential investors. As a result, many MNEs have installed their headquarters there.

During his speech at the event, Vice President, Mr. Konstantinos Bitsios, thanked the Ambassador of Ireland for her support in implementing the event. He stressed that Ireland enjoys stable economic growth and is one of the fastest-growing European economies. Hence, we have a lot to learn from Ireland. He also noted that, while Greek exports to Ireland increased from 84 to 134 million between 2016-2018, an increase of 60%, Greece has a significant deficit in bilateral trade, which should be reversed.

During the event, three Greek enterprises, De Gustibus, Emicert and Juliette Armand S.A., shared with the audience their experience, from their successful presence in the Irish market.