The Cooperation Between Greece and Saudi Arabia in Key Political and Economic Sectors Agreed Upon During the 1st High Strategic Cooperation Council

The 1st High Strategic Cooperation Council between Greece and Saudi Arabia convened at the Governorate of AlUla under the joint chairmanship of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The discussions resulted in agreements to enhance collaboration in key political and economic sectors.

Bilateral relations and cooperation between Greece and Saudi Arabia have been elevated to a strategic level following the signing of the agreement establishing the High Strategic Cooperation Council in the summer of 2022.

The work of the Council included the participation of Greece’s Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, as the Tourism Committee is one of the seven Committees within the Council. During the Tourism Committee’s proceedings, both sides agreed on a series of initiatives in the tourism sector as part of the Joint Action Plan 2024–2026.

The goal is to facilitate and encourage cooperation between representatives of the private sectors of both countries through joint initiatives, such as organizing a workshop in 2025 with the participation of travel agents from both nations, exploring the possibility of launching a joint advertising campaign with airlines to boost tourism demand, and creating a program to recruit hotel workers.

These initiatives are expected to act as a springboard for the tourism relations between the two countries, providing significant momentum to their bilateral cooperation.

It is worth noting that tourism collaboration between the two nations has surged in recent years.

In June, Minister Kefalogianni and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, Ahmad Al Khatib, signed a bilateral Joint Action Plan for tourism cooperation for the 2024–2026 period. The signing took place in Barcelona, on the sidelines of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The agreement focuses on sustainable and green tourism, tourism education, digitalization, specialized forms of tourism, investment promotion, air connectivity, and multilateral cooperation between the two nations.