On 12th May, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met SGCC Chairman Shu Yinbiao in Beijing and had discussions on the jointly promoting of the Belt and Road Initiative and the strengthening of power and energy cooperation. 
        Mr. Tsipras expressed his appreciation for the support Mr. Shu has given to the future development of Greek grid and the contribution made by SGCC in promoting inter-island grid connection and the implementation of  EuroAsia Interconnector projects. He said that the Greek government attached great importance to its cooperation with SGCC, one of the largest utilities in the world. This is the first meeting during his stay in China this time. SGCC won the bid of ADMIE, the Greece Independent Power Transmission Operator, in its privatization, which will strongly promote the development of power infrastructures in Greece. Mr. Tsipras also expressed his hope for SGCC to continue to support ADMIE and  EuroAsia Interconnector  through carrying out more concrete cooperation. The Greek government will accelerate the approval of the investment in ADMIE and close the transaction as soon as possible. He added that the Greek government in return, will also give full support to SGCC’s involvement in inter-island grid connections and  EuroAsia Interconnector projects. At last, he also expressed his wish for productive capacity cooperation in the development of clean energy between the two sides.

        Mr. Shu Yinbiao introduced the results SGCC has achieved in business development, technological innovation, grid operation and internationalization, and expressed his gratitude for the support and trust from all sectors in Greece in the bid for ADMIE. Mr. Shu mentioned that the cooperation projects proposed by Mr. Tsipras were in line with the principles proposed by President Xi Jinping in the Belt and Road Initiative featuring “mutual discussion, building jointly and sharing the benefits equally”. SGCC will make full use of its advantages in technology, capital and management to work together with other shareholders to support the development of ADMIE and it is expected that the Greek government can get the approval procedures finished as soon as possible. As a long-term industrial investor, SGCC will bring the geographical advantage and new energy potential of Greece to the fullest to make Greek power grid a power hub connecting Southern Europe and Asia, and take the opportunities of the development of new energy in Europe and Asia to promote European energy transition. E EuroAsia Interconnector is of great significance. Therefore, SGCC will give full play to its comprehensive competitiveness to actively participate in the preliminary development of the project. Besides, SGCC will also send a delegation to attend the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair to be held in September this year to showcase the fruitful results of win-win power cooperation between the two sides. Greece is an important pillar for the westward expansion of the Belt and Road. As a result, SGCC will take the opportunity offered by the winning of the bid to promote power cooperation between the two sides, expand the size and scope of cooperation and make joint efforts to drive the development of Greek energy and power industry.

        The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, the Greek Ambassador to China, the President of Public Power Corp of Greece, Mr. Zou Xiaoli, Chinese Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Zhu Guangchao, Deputy Chief Engineer and Director of Department of International Cooperation of SGCC and other representatives from the Department of International Cooperation and State Grid International Development Co., Ltd attended the meeting.

        Source: Department of International Cooperation, State Grid News