Piraeus is not only home to Greece’s largest port, but also the historic heart of Greek shipping and one of the world’s major maritime centres, having developed a broad ecosystem of businesses, services and professionals directly or indirectly linked to the sea, the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement marking World Maritime Day.
According to the chamber, this relationship can be strengthened further so that a larger share of the economic activity generated by shipping flows into the local economy, including the retail, hospitality and services sectors. Particular reference was made to Posidonia, the international shipping exhibition with deep roots in Piraeus. The Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed the need to further strengthen the event’s links with the city, proposing that more parallel events, meetings and activities be held in Piraeus during the exhibition.
The aim, it said, is for Posidonia’s international visitors to become more familiar with and experience modern-day Piraeus, while also boosting economic activity in the city.
“Shipping and commerce are not two parallel worlds”
“Shipping and commerce are not two parallel worlds. They are links in the same economic chain,” the chamber said, identifying as the next challenge the creation of a modern growth model that would further connect the port, shipping, commerce, tourism, hospitality and services sectors.
Thodoris Kapralos, president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Piraeus has “an advantage that very few European cities possess”, combining a world-class port, one of the world’s strongest shipping communities and a large, historic commercial market.
“We need to bring these forces together even more closely,” Kapralos said, adding that Posidonia could be connected even more closely with the city where it originated.
“We want more of the value created by shipping to be channelled into the city’s economy. Because a truly strong shipping hub in Piraeus must also mean a strong commercial hub in Piraeus,” he said.
Source: Naftemporiki