On Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 6:00 pm (EET), the U.S. Commercial Service is hosting a free webinar on defense and disaster resilience opportunities in Greece.

opportunities in defense

The financial crisis restricted the Greek Government from expenditure in defense, safety and security, limiting its ability for new big-ticket purchases. However, things began to change in 2020: the Greek Government announced a budget of $5.7 billion across all services. This justified a series of procurements including frigates and fighter jets. In response to geopolitical tensions, Greece signed an update to the U.S. - Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA). There will be major procurements across all branches of the military. The Government is learning about and evaluating new solutions in the face of unprecedented uncertainties in the region. Greece surpassed the United States in 2022 in terms of spending in relation to GDP. In fact, Greece spends the most in NATO.

opportunities in disaster resilience

The 2021 wildfires in Greece devastated over 125,000 hectares of land and followed a historic heatwave (47 C). In September 2021, the Greek Prime Minister upgraded the Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection to a fully-fledged Ministry and appointed a new Minister. The Ministry was designated to combat all types of climate challenges, and secured funding to make several big-ticket purchases under the AEGIS Program.

AEGIS has EUR 1.76 billion ($1.98) of funding focused on four pillars including the upgrade of infrastructure, facilities, and provision of educational programs, early warning system and means of prevention, equipment and means of support and coordination, and aerial firefighting equipment and ground infrastructure. As firefighting is not considered a defense activity by the U.S. Government, the purchase of U.S. products for firefighting efforts would likely be direct commercial sales. The Greek Government is still new to understanding the range of firefighting solutions that exist, from AI based models to emergency communication systems and genuinely wishes to learn more in order to further develop a holistic strategy.

The webinar will feature:

• Yuri Arthur, Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Embassy Athens

• Athina Kladis, Industry Specialist, U.S Embassy Athens

• Major Joseph "Tripp" Callaway, Army Programs Manager, Office of Defense Cooperation Athens

• representative of the Greek Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection

• representative of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Greece)

Further details and registration are available here.

AmCham members who would like to learn more about our U.S. Drive services are kindly invited to reach out to Manuel Cazac, Program Manager (mcazac@amcham.ro).