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Anastasia Balezdrova 

"- Tell the sheikh that the team is great, Andoniou plays in it.

-  The sheikh replies that he does not know who Andoniou is and he will buy the best players.

- Tell him that the present players are very good; baboons will like them.

- They are called Bedouins

- Tell him that the team is an oasis.

- ...

- Listen, sell the team to the sheikh."

Recently, even in the commercials in Greece the main character is a mysterious sheikh, who appears from somewhere and wants to buy a football team. Now that an investor from Qatar has purchased a large number of shares in the company Hellenic Gold and another one has invested in the merger of Alpha Bank and Eurobank, businessmen from the Middle East are quite reasonably regarded as a new source of investment that will warm the cold engine of the Greek economy.

In Athens, businessmen, politicians and diplomats have called upon companies from the Arab world to invest in Greece, but also for Greek firms to target the markets in the countries of North Africa.

Development of trade relations between Greece and the Arab countries was the main topic of the forum, "Greece, Mediterranean and the Arab World", which was organized by the Centre for Progressive Policy Research.

"According to official data from the National Statistical Service, exports of Greek goods to the countries of North Africa in the first half of 2011 reached € 553 million despite the serious political turmoil there. Exports to Egypt increased by 160 per cent, Libya - by 97 per cent, Lebanon - by 112 per cent, Tunisia - by 36 per cent," said the expert from the Hellenic Centre for European Studies, Dimitris Xenakis.

At the same time, the President of the Arab-Greek Chamber of Commerce and former Minister of Development Christos Folias said that Greece is at a crossroads and it is vital for the country to attract investments from the Arab countries, with which it traditionally has good relations. "In this process, the contribution of investors from the Arab countries may be crucial for our country." He did not reserve his criticism of the unstable business environment in Greece. "We are fighting with countries with administrations well prepared for the reception of investments. There is no need to mention the failure of the investment in Astakos from which the businessmen from Qatar withdrew because of bureaucratic obstacles. The state machine should work in such a way that would make us not just better but better than the best of our competitors in attracting investments. The government should also assume its responsibility and introduce a stable tax system that will enable investors to feel confident about the course of their business here."

The Deputy Manager of CCC construction company, Saleh Saad Dzhalad, stressed the importance of Greek businessmen turning to the Arab countries and undertaking investor initiatives. He cited examples of successful cooperation primarily in the energy sector and urged the government to remove all  obstacles faced by a businessman from the Arab world attempting to invest in Greece.

"Our company has been on the Greek market since 1976. It is among the leading construction companies in the world and if you look at the address in our presentation - the company headquarters is located in Greece, not in Lebanon or elsewhere. This is because so far Greece has offered the best conditions for those who wanted to work there. Let us keep it not only for CCC, but for all other companies," he said.
 
The need for expanding cooperation between Greece and the Arab countries was stressed by the Business Development Manager of Intralot, Aris Dotsis. "This should be acheived by seeking investment opportunities for Greek companies in these countries as well as by attracting Arab capital in Greece." He also stressed the importance of Greek companies seizing investment opportunities, which will occur immediately after the establishment of order in North African countries where the private sector is expected to play a particularly important role. Aris Dotsis presented the investment experience of Intralot in Turkey and Morocco in the field of gambling. "In the beginning, it was not easy given the fact that the citizens of these countries are quite unfamiliar with gambling for religious reasons. Gradually, this began to change, mostly because of the need for the countries to increase government revenues. Our investment in Turkey has developed very well and now revenues from gambling are the third major source of state funds. Our investment in Morocco was also very successful and our proposal for creating a Mediterranean lottery (Med Lotto) remains effective."

Dimitris Xenakis paid particular attention to the riots against the regime in North African countries and the fact that Europe and particularly Greece should be prepared to take action.

"Everyone is filled with admiration for the riots, but at the same time, they are worried about who will replace the fallen regimes in power. Although we cannot exclude the possibility that there are attempts to return to the status quo, Europe should be in these countries the next day and help promote democracy in each Mediterranean country where there is political change. The usual economic assistance is not enough, Europe needs to invest in its southern backyard in order to ensure its own long-term future," he said, adding that resolving the Palestinian issue is one of the factors for the full economic development of the entire region.