Macedonia and Thrace have a future marked by growth

By Theodoros Karaoglou*

Τhe New Democracy government with Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Prime Minister has a national opportunity ahead: to spark optimism in the souls of Greeks, by paving growth paths in every corner of the country and signalling the rebooting of the national economy. By implementing a growth strategy that focuses on actions and not words, we are attempting to attract as many investors as possible. At the same time, we are expending all efforts to release the creativity of our people, by reactivating all the productive powers of the country, mainly aiming to bring the financial indicators back on track.

In Northern Greece, achieving these goals entails curbing the intense de-industrialisation phenomena. By investing in the experience and knowledge of our human resources, the Ministry of Interior is drawing up a realistic and feasible plan for the sustainable development of the area under our jurisdiction.

As a government, we believe that Macedonia and Thrace ought to make the most of their geographical position as the gateway of Europe and become the centre of economic influence for the whole of the Balkans and the Mediterranean region. By accentuating the growth capacity of the wider region, as well as its international character, Northern Greece is capable of leaving behind the era of deindustrialisation, introversion and stagnation.

However, before getting to the stage of implementing the plan, it is important that Greek businesses are given the chance to breathe again, increasing their turnover and reinvesting their earnings in the country.

Given the above, our responsibility is to shape a suitable business environment that will serve the undisputed political will of this government to modernise and rebuild the country. The Directorate of Private Investments of the Deputy Ministry of Interior responsible for Macedonia and Thrace is a valuable tool in this effort. Its aim is to accept, perform due diligence, evaluate, approve and monitor the private investments within its jurisdiction, and provide subsidies, in compliance with the legislation.

Its pivotal role is also highlighted by the fact that during my first office term at Government House, in 2012-2014, when the responsibilities of the former Business Growth Unit were transferred to the Economic and Tourism Growth Directorate of the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, 314 investment plans with a total budget of -2 billion were submitted. Thousands of jobs were created and secured with these plans, which were converted into investments. I aspire to do the same this time around.

Meanwhile, we have been focusing on reinforcing the sustainable development infrastructure. In partnership with the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), the Alexander Innovation Zone and the Universities of Macedonia and Thrace,
and capitalising on the significant work by the Directorate of Private Investments mentioned above, we are planning on implementing programmes for restructuring production, reinforcing trans-European networks, and improving the ports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupoli. We are focusing on these three ports specifically because they must operate as freight forwarding centres for regional and global trade. We are also placing major emphasis on financing tools (such as the INTERREG cross-border programmes) for boosting the competitiveness of businesses on both sides of the border. It goes without saying that the protection of Macedonian products – for which the SYRIZA government demonstrated unforgivable ignorance – is a top priority for New Democracy government. We are already planning on undertaking a series of initiatives that will unfold gradually and which have two goals. On the one hand, to showcase “Macedonia” as a brand name that combines all the comparative advantages of the region (linking production to tourism and culture) and, on the other, to safeguard the thousands of businesses in Northern Greece that use the term “Macedonian” in their trade names.

Clearly, Macedonian businesses will not be left to fend for themselves. Precisely for this reason, and apart from the media campaign that will be launched to protect the ‘Macedonia’ brand name, we are paving the way to:

• Assist businesses to register their trademarks in order to protect their products on a European level.
• Register even more Macedonian products as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in the EU.
• Ensure that all Macedonian businesses automatically receive the GR marking for their products if they have registered the adjective “Macedonian” in their trademark, so that there is no doubt that they are Greek products.

These are some of the steps we will immediately take so that Macedonia and Thrace may have the prospects that will create alliances, attract partnerships and boost extroversion. In addition, we will be able to convince domestic and foreign stakeholders to reconsider their view of Northern Greece. We will prove that this blessed land not only has a glorious past, but also a present and definitely a promising future for investment opportunities.

We owe this to the thousands of young people who saw their dreams crumbling during the years of the crisis; who experienced unemployment and made the decision to leave their birthplace in search of a better future. We owe to them to make Macedonia and Thrace a point of reference with a positive growth rate, so we may be able to ask them to return and breathe new life into their birthplace. We have the plan, the knowledge, and the experience to achieve it.