Thessaloniki and Northern Greece in International Markets

Thessaloniki and Northern Greece have had to face numerous and varied challenges throughout their history and economic development.
Still, on every occasion, our city and its region have managed to fulfill their role and deal with every rising situation, using their own forces. Today, at this time of globalised economy, the challenge we have to face is how to shape a specific role for Thessaloniki so as to successfully place it on the map of international markets.
In this context, the globalization of economies, the tough competition among countries and regions, the retrogression of the local economic system in terms of international competitiveness, the lower growth rate of Northern Greece in relation to the capital, as well as the recent grand-scale enlargement of the European Union are all challenges that may arouse a sense of insecurity in most of us. This leads to major issues and questions that require study, dialogue and search for answers.

Naturally, the whole internationalization of economies is tougher than ever before, since the globalization “game” is widely open and, at times, its terms are not clear enough. This was exactly what troubled us and led us to select the specific theme for this year’s 11th Thessaloniki Forum. We believe that the Forum promoted the agenda for highlighting the position and role of Thessaloniki and Northern Greece in international markets.
In our view, some of the issues of this agenda that define the present situation and will continue to shape the future are the following:
- what is the position of Thessaloniki in the international environment?
- what is the position of Northern Greece in international markets?
- what are the new challenges?
- in what manner and through which policies can the region face these new challenges?
- what are the priorities so as to enhance the presence of Thessaloniki and Northern Greece in international markets?
- what are the criteria and overall targeting through which best policies are to be selected in order to internationalise the local economic system?
- what is the expected socioeconomic impact of any decisions to be taken?
- how and through what process and, perhaps, mechanisms are decisions for the future of the region to be supported?

Exchanges during the 11th Thessaloniki Forum have generally shaped an agenda concerning the position and role of Thessaloniki and Northern Greece in international markets. In the context of the Forum, we aspired and managed to record international experiences, to develop proposals through the use of best practices from Greece and abroad and, finally, to make the best choices with a view to reinforcing the growth of our region.

I know that issues raised at a meeting such as the 11th Thessaloniki Forum are numerous and cannot possibly be answered within its limited duration. However, I am certain that the excellent speakers at the conference have managed to share their views and experiences on the issue; after all, our final goal is to enhance the extroversion of local economy and to initiate a developmental course for the years to come. In my view, economic extroversion should be both a choice and an economic attitude, as of today, for all of us.

Introverted growth is a thing of the past. Everyone should look outwards, because anyone aiming at simply being active in the domestic market and only maintaining their prerogatives has no chance of finding any fertile ground; any such efforts will be futile and whatever growth there might be will have an expiration date.