By Vaso Vegiri
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This year’s 84th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) has all it takes to become a milestone in the 93 years of the institution’s history.
On the one hand, this is due to the expected official announcements by the new Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, for the upgrading and regeneration of the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre.
The announcement will be a follow-up to his recent statements to incorporate the project into the priorities of the new Government, during the presentation of the new Government’s programmatic statements.
On the other hand, this year’s TIF will accommodate the presentation of the Governments’ economic policies for the year to follow, as customary, but also the presentation of the overall plan of the new Government aiming at the country’s economic recovery. The ideology and identity assumed by the new Government are quite different than those of the previous administration; also, much friendlier towards entrepreneurship and private economy. Kyriakos Mitsotakis administration takes the country’s reins with the final abolition of capital controls after a decade-long crisis and aspires - as it has already promised - to create a s, both in terms of foreign investment and entrepreneurship in general.
There is also optimism among the local production bodies. The latter expect that the Government’s announcements will also include a number of major local projects and initiatives. Namely, the establishment of an “Enterprise Macedonia” body to strengthen the identity of Macedonian products against the threats posed by the Prespa Agreement on Macedonian markings. Or the creation of “ThessINTEC”, a 4th generation technology park that shall require the allocation of 180 acres in the east side of the airport, at the Alexandrian Zone of Innovation, which has already received the approval of Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund.
Since October 3, 1926, when Thessaloniki International Fair first opened its doors at its first facilities, the Fair has experienced times of ascension and recession alike. It has also changed its organisation by adapting to the international rules and requirements of the exhibition market. But along with the sectoral fairs TIF always boosts the local and national economy. It also strongly reinforces the extroversion of Greek businesses. In recent years that was achieved with the support of the opening of major markets, such as India this year, the USA last year and China the year before, all through the revival of the “Honourable State” tradition. It also constitutes a barometer of the Greek economy prospects and one of the most important annual political and economic events in the country.
This year, as is the case every year, NAFTEMPORIKI newspaper records the opinions and the expectations of several economic bodies, as well as representatives of the business world and the political scene as regards the economy and the entrepreneurship, on the occasion of the Thessaloniki International Fair and, of course, for the Fair itself.
