The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Governance and the National Documentation Centre (EKT) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at developing a modern digital infrastructure to support economic diplomacy and the extroversion of the Greek economy. The Memorandum was signed on Tuesday 16 June 2026 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The cooperation harnesses the complementary expertise of the three bodies and creates the conditions for the systematic collection, organisation, analysis and use of the large volume of information produced by Greece’s Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices abroad. The aim is to turn information into organised and usable knowledge that will support strategic planning, evidence-based decision-making and the promotion of Greek economic interests internationally.
At the signing of the Memorandum, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Theoharis stated: “It is with particular pleasure that we are proceeding, together with Mr. Dermentzopoulos, with the agreement with the Ministry of Digital Governance and the National Documentation Centre for the development of a digital platform that will strengthen and dramatically multiply our capabilities as a Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is because we will now be able to identify and make use of investment and business opportunities in the international environment directly and effectively. With the new platform, beyond the primary goal of our government’s policy for the digitalisation of the state, we are turning the enormous wealth of information accumulated in the Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices around the world into usable knowledge. And since our ultimate goal is attracting foreign capital and economic extroversion, today, with the signing of the MOU for the new platform, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — and more generally the methodology of foreign policy in our country — turns a new page.”
Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Christos Dermentzopoulos stated: “This new institutional cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Governance and EKT upgrades the way economic diplomacy is conducted, harnessing EKT’s expertise in the digital transformation of public administration. The aim is to develop a comprehensive platform that does not merely digitise processes, but turns the information of the Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices into measurable strategic knowledge. We are creating the conditions for strategic decisions to be taken with greater speed and on a sounder evidence base. In this way, the country’s extroversion is strengthened in practice and Greek entrepreneurship gains more comprehensive support in international markets.”
The Chair of the Board of EKT, Professor Emerita Eugenia Bezirtzoglou, stated: “The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation is an important step towards the substantive use of data and documentation in support of public policy. It also highlights the importance of cooperation between public bodies with complementary roles, when the common goal is the better use of information for the benefit of the country. EKT contributes its experience and expertise in the organisation, documentation, management and dissemination of data and digital content, helping to create reliable digital infrastructures that make a substantive contribution to public administration and the Greek economy.”
The Director of EKT, Dr Kyriakos Tolias, stated: “The Memorandum of Cooperation is the starting point for the gradual development of a single digital portal that will strengthen the country’s national representation and presence abroad. Economic diplomacy is the first field of application, also building on the substantial work already done with the AGORA web portal. With EKT’s expertise, the information of the Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices can be organised, analysed and used in a timely manner, supporting strategic planning, decision-making and the country’s extroversion in a more targeted way.”
A digital platform to support economic diplomacy
The Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices operate as hubs of information, monitoring and support for the Greek business presence abroad. The volume of information produced and the speed of international economic developments make it necessary to develop a single, organised and interoperable system for recording and using data.
The new digital infrastructure will serve as a single point of access to the Offices’ reports, briefings, studies, analyses and recommendations, as well as to information material on foreign markets, business and investment opportunities, sectoral analyses, business missions and business guides.
With an emphasis on security and tiered access, the platform will allow information to be used according to the role and responsibilities of each user. It will also be designed with interoperability in mind and with the ability to connect to third-party systems and databases, such as the AGORA web portal, databases of international organisations and Enterprise Greece information systems.
Under the Memorandum, EKT will contribute to the design of the platform and the definition of its functional specifications, providing expertise on digital services, data and documentation. Its contribution is based on its experience in implementing complex information systems that bring together multiple data sources and support cooperation and coordination among bodies at national level.
A broader framework of cooperation and joint actions
Beyond the development of the digital platform, the Memorandum establishes a broader framework of institutional cooperation among the three bodies. This includes the exchange of know-how and good practices, the standardisation and use of public data, the preparation of studies and research, and the production of statistics and indicators to support policies and actions of common interest.
Joint information and promotion activities, initiatives for the Greek diaspora, and the exploration of funding opportunities and participation in national and European programmes and cooperation networks are also foreseen.
The Memorandum lays the foundations for cooperation with institutional continuity, harnessing data, documentation and digital technologies for the benefit of the country.
