Press Office
Athens, 16 November 2021
11th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting
The 11th Asia – Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting on the theme: “Promoting Parliamentary Partnership for Peace and Sustainable Development in the Era of COVID-19 and beyond” took place online under the chairmanship of the Parliament of Cambodia. The Hellenic Parliament was represented by Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, Chairwoman of the Special Permanent Committee on Environmental Protection, Georgios Amanatidis, member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, and Christos Dermentzopoulos, member of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs.
Mr Dermentzopoulos, in his intervention during the 1st panel discussion on the theme: “Proactive Parliaments for Peace, Security and Shared Prosperity”, said that the pandemic has been a challenge for all of us, changing our lives and urging us to respond quickly and effectively to the new challenges and added that it has been a hard lesson that highlighted humanity’s vulnerable position and which is showing us that cooperation is the only guarantee when solving problems, and is also showing us how important it is to have a multilateral approach when tackling the new challenges and cooperation between parliaments to achieve our common goals such as peace, security and shared prosperity. Mr Dermentzopoulos stressed that the national parliaments have played and continue to play a fundamental role in promoting the development and implementation of goals, through joint initiatives, actions and synergies, as well as through the exchange of best practices and underlined that Greece participates in current developments by shaping policies and taking up initiatives. Lastly, he underlined that solidarity does not stop at our borders and that the current pandemic reminds us of the importance of international cooperation in achieving a coordinated response to the common challenges and crises.
Mr Amanatidis, in his intervention during the 2nd panel discussion on the theme “Promoting Global Economic Recovery in the Era of COVID-19 and beyond”, said that undoubtedly, the pandemic interrupted the plans of the global investment community and that the subsequent disruptions in social mobility and cohesion, as well as in demand, supply and liquidity in the economy have led to a deep global recession in the last two years and added that the question that is urgently being raised in the public debate is whether it is feasible to attract investments in the midst of the pandemic and he also referred to the socio-economic post-pandemic landscape that is shaping to be grim. Mr Amanatidis pointed out that the states ought to develop a new strategy, emphasising the parameters that make them attractive for investments, such as the field of energy, digital competitiveness of the economy, the tourism sector, that was dealt a decisive blow by the pandemic and culture, which acting as an adhesive should be diffused in all areas of growth and be preserved based on the principles of sustainability. The Greek MP underlined that the role of parliaments is crucial in promoting dialogue and consultations between states, allowing them to turn the crisis into a window of opportunity.
Mrs Avgerinopoulou, in her intervention during the 3rd panel discussion on the theme “Addressing Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus under a Changing Climate”, said that the rise in temperature is fuelling environmental degradation, natural disasters, extreme weather events, slow onset events, food and water insecurity and economic disruption and added that to this end, the international joint efforts towards a net zero economy by 2050, including the amplification of clean energy sources, are vital for all countries. The Chairwoman of the Committee on Environmental Protection emphasised that we must adopt an integrated and coordinated, systemic approach across sectors, with a view to reconcile potentially conflicting interests and pointed out that the transformation of our consumption and production patterns towards more sustainable paths is a cornerstone in solving the vicious circle of a troubled nexus between water-energy-food and climate change. Mrs Avgerinopoulou underlined that not only food security and the ecological balance are being threatened, but also public health and our survival and added that Greece and the European Union can initiate additional programmes and funding in order to deepen the cooperation between the states of Asia and Europe.
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