Meetings in Greece

The business program in Athens was organized by Mr. George Gitsioudis and Ms. Sotiroula Moukakou of the International Relations Department at the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  Welcoming comments were provided by Mr. Elias Stasinopoulos, member of the ACCI Board of Directors.  Following his presentation, Clark Price, Economic Counselor and the Acting Senior Commercial Officer of the US Embassy spoke about the market for US companies.  Mr. Price is a native of the Philadelphia area. 

Sixty one-on-one appointments were organized for the companies during the morning session.  Following the busy schedule, a buffet lunch was served with an opportunity to speak with Greek business executives in attendance. 

The delegates also visited Fage Dairy Industry SA, the largest dairy producer in Greece, to see first-hand how modern businesses are run in the region.  The delegation was greeted by Mr. Kyriakos Philippou, the Chairman of the FAGE Group and executives of the company.  As a result of its success with its yogurt “Total,” Fage will be delivering product from its new production facility in upstate New York in the very near future.

The delegates also toured the DAKOS restaurant chain, an affiliate of the large Greek food manufacturer Creta Farm, where they met with the Company’s executives.  Creta Farm recently entered into a joint venture to begin manufacturing its products in the Philadelphia area for U.S. consumption.

Cyprus Mission

The program for Cyprus was organized and hosted by the WTC Cyprus in cooperation with the Cyprus Trade Office.  Ms. Styliana Pontiki-Drege, Business Development Officer and Mr. Mehran Eftekar, Group Finance Director of the World Trade Center Cyprus Holdings prepared a wonderful program for the delegation.

The first event on the program was a visit to the Cyprus Tourism Organization in Nicosia where the delegation met with Phoebe Katsouris, Director General.  There the group was informed of activities and infrastructure development that will support the growing tourist industry.

Twenty-five one-on-one meetings were arranged to take place at the Holiday Inn in Nicosia.  At the end of the appointments, a presentation on the economic and political environment was conducted by Mr. Bambos Orphanides of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.  A discussion of business opportunities in Cyprus was presented by Michael Dixon, Commercial Attaché from the US Embassy.  Accompanying Mr. Dixon was Ms. Jane Zimmerman, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Nicosia.

The program continued in Limassol, including a stop at the important archeological site of “Choirokitia” one of the oldest villages in the world.  A luncheon program was hosted by the law firm of Chrysses Demetriades & Co.  The program included a presentation on legal affairs in Cyprus by Christos Mavrellis and an opportunity for the delegates to meet with additional executives from the region.  One-on-one appointments followed which carried the program through to the end of the day.

The final leg of the tour was from Limassol to Larnaca with a visit to Paphos to enjoy the beautiful blue Mediterranean thought to be the birthplace of Venus.  An additional visit was made to Kourion to visit the famous World Heritage site and its beautiful mosaic floors.  The delegation spent the last evening in Larnaca.