Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates
04/27/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/28/2026 07:54
Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy Calls for Strength by Design and Deeper Cooperation at Delphi Economic Forum
Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy Calls for Strength by Design and Deeper Cooperation at Delphi Economic Forum
Mon 27/4/2026
General
His Excellency Badr Jafar, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy, delivered a keynote address at the eleventh Delphi Economic Forum in Greece on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The forum visit follows a recent meeting in Abu Dhabi between His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Excellency Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, where the two sides discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This year's forum brought together heads of state, government ministers, central bank governors, and senior business leaders from more than sixty countries to address the most pressing questions of the global economy: the architecture of trade in a fragmenting world, the robustness of critical infrastructure and supply chains, and the future of cooperation between trusted partners.
In a keynote that drew on the UAE's experience over the past eight weeks, H.E. Badr Jafar stated, "What is under attack today is not just one country, one waterway, or one region; it is the assumption on which our modern world is built. And that assumption must be defended - not by closing our economies, but by building them stronger."
His Excellency Badr Jafar's central argument was direct: strength is not improvised. It is deliberately designed - built through decades of investment in infrastructure, institutions, trusted partnerships, and people. His Excellency pointed to the UAE's recent experience as evidence: as the country navigated a sustained period of regional pressure, energy systems, supply chains, financial markets, telecommunications, healthcare, and transport networks remained stable and fully operational; alternative trade corridors were activated at scale through the Indian Ocean ports of Khor Fakkan and Fujairah; and confidence in the UAE economy held firm.
H.E. Badr Jafar called on global leaders to resist the pull of fragmentation. "The UAE's expanding trade partnerships are not simply about access to markets," His Excellency said. "They are about strengthening cooperation with trusted and strategic partners. In the face of volatility, we are doubling down - reinforcing those relationships rather than retreating from them. Fragmentation is not answered by retreat - it is answered by deeper cooperation, shared rules, and mutual trust."
Advancing the UAE-Greece Economic Partnership
On the UAE-Greece relationship, H.E. Badr Jafar underscored the two countries' shared commitment to open, rules-based economic cooperation. "Greece and the UAE are connected not only by trade flows and investment figures, but by a shared commitment to open, rules-based cooperation as the foundation of long-term prosperity. That is a conviction worth deepening, and one we are acting on."
On the sidelines of the forum, H.E. Badr Jafar held a series of meetings with senior Greek officials, regulators and business leaders, focusing on opportunities to expand the UAE-Greece economic relationship across trade corridors, energy, infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and financial services. His meetings included discussions with His Excellency Haris Theocharis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic; Gikas Hardouvelis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Greece; Theodore Pelagidis, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece; Marinos Giannopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece; Ioannis Tsakiris, Vice President of the European Investment Bank; Nikos Stathopoulos, Chairman, Europe at BC Partners; Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center; and Ambassador Alexis Konstantopoulos, Greece's Special Representative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The UAE-Greece bilateral relationship has strengthened significantly in recent years under the framework of the two countries' Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in November 2020, and through the UAE-Greece Joint Investment Fund announced in May 2022 with a total value of €4 billion. UAE investment in Greece now spans energy, healthcare, and digital infrastructure, with Emirati direct investment having exceeded the $4.3 billion target set in 2022. Non-oil bilateral trade has grown by 80 per cent over the past five years, with the first quarter of 2025 alone recording year-on-year growth of more than 40 per cent.
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The forum visit follows a recent meeting in Abu Dhabi between His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Excellency Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, where the two sides discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This year's forum brought together heads of state, government ministers, central bank governors, and senior business leaders from more than sixty countries to address the most pressing questions of the global economy: the architecture of trade in a fragmenting world, the robustness of critical infrastructure and supply chains, and the future of cooperation between trusted partners.
In a keynote that drew on the UAE's experience over the past eight weeks, H.E. Badr Jafar stated, "What is under attack today is not just one country, one waterway, or one region; it is the assumption on which our modern world is built. And that assumption must be defended - not by closing our economies, but by building them stronger."
His Excellency Badr Jafar's central argument was direct: strength is not improvised. It is deliberately designed - built through decades of investment in infrastructure, institutions, trusted partnerships, and people. His Excellency pointed to the UAE's recent experience as evidence: as the country navigated a sustained period of regional pressure, energy systems, supply chains, financial markets, telecommunications, healthcare, and transport networks remained stable and fully operational; alternative trade corridors were activated at scale through the Indian Ocean ports of Khor Fakkan and Fujairah; and confidence in the UAE economy held firm.
H.E. Badr Jafar called on global leaders to resist the pull of fragmentation. "The UAE's expanding trade partnerships are not simply about access to markets," His Excellency said. "They are about strengthening cooperation with trusted and strategic partners. In the face of volatility, we are doubling down - reinforcing those relationships rather than retreating from them. Fragmentation is not answered by retreat - it is answered by deeper cooperation, shared rules, and mutual trust."
Advancing the UAE-Greece Economic Partnership
On the UAE-Greece relationship, H.E. Badr Jafar underscored the two countries' shared commitment to open, rules-based economic cooperation. "Greece and the UAE are connected not only by trade flows and investment figures, but by a shared commitment to open, rules-based cooperation as the foundation of long-term prosperity. That is a conviction worth deepening, and one we are acting on."
On the sidelines of the forum, H.E. Badr Jafar held a series of meetings with senior Greek officials, regulators and business leaders, focusing on opportunities to expand the UAE-Greece economic relationship across trade corridors, energy, infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and financial services. His meetings included discussions with His Excellency Haris Theocharis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic; Gikas Hardouvelis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Greece; Theodore Pelagidis, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece; Marinos Giannopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece; Ioannis Tsakiris, Vice President of the European Investment Bank; Nikos Stathopoulos, Chairman, Europe at BC Partners; Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center; and Ambassador Alexis Konstantopoulos, Greece's Special Representative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The UAE-Greece bilateral relationship has strengthened significantly in recent years under the framework of the two countries' Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in November 2020, and through the UAE-Greece Joint Investment Fund announced in May 2022 with a total value of €4 billion. UAE investment in Greece now spans energy, healthcare, and digital infrastructure, with Emirati direct investment having exceeded the $4.3 billion target set in 2022. Non-oil bilateral trade has grown by 80 per cent over the past five years, with the first quarter of 2025 alone recording year-on-year growth of more than 40 per cent.
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