Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at the Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.
During the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to keeping up the excellent level of bilateral relations and discussed prospects for further deepening and broadening cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including investment, energy, tourism and defence.
Both sides stressed the importance of the newly established Business Council of the GreekSaudi Arabian Business Council to strengthen ties between the business communities of the two countries, and steps to promote investment initiatives and connectivity projects were discussed.
They also agreed on the establishment of a High Cooperation Council between the two countries, which will meet for the first time within the first half of 2022 in order to consolidate and further promote bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister and the Crown Prince exchanged views on developments in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa. Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a stable partner of great importance, ready to play an extremely important role in the Gulf region and beyond. He did not fail to underline Greece's role as a pillar of security and stability in the region.
The Prime Minister informed the Crown Prince of Turkey's destabilising and counterproductive role in the region. He stressed that Greece is ready for dialogue under the condition of respecting international law, sovereignty and sovereign rights and refraining from provocative actions.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis unequivocally condemned any attack against the Saudi Arabian territory. The Crown Prince expressed Saudi Arabia's sincere thanks to Greece for despatching a Patriot long-range anti-aircraft missile array. The meeting was also attended by Costas Fragogoyannis, Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and External Relations, Ambassador Eleni Surani, Director of the Greek Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Aristotelia Peloni, the Deputy Government Spokesperson, as well as Alexis Patelis, the Director of the Economic Office of the Prime Minister.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis meets with the Prime Minister of Bahrain
Earlier on, Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at noon with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on the sidelines of his official visit to Saudi Arabia.
During the meeting, they discussed the possibilities of enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment and tourism. The two leaders exchanged views on international and regional issues, as well as on the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Prime Minister made special reference to the agreement with France on the establishment of a strategic partnership, as well as the five-year renewal of the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement with the United States.
The two leaders exchanged invitations for reciprocal visits. In the morning, the Prime Minister had a meeting with businessmen from Saudi Arabia interested in investing in Greece, followed by a meeting with senior executives of Greek companies, already operating or interested in operating in the Kingdom.