The acceleration of the development processes of the e-National Port Community Platform by the co-competent Ministries of Shipping and Electronic Government was the focus of the discussion of the Board of Directors meeting of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry-PCCI, which was attended by the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the president of Hellenic Chamber of Shipping-HCS, Giorgos Pateras and the representatives of the president of +ENOSIS and Greek Union of Shipowners-UGS, Ms. Melina Travlos, Christos Bousios and Ekaterini Peppa, respectively.
Support
In the context of the meeting, during which Miltiadis Varvitsiotis was declared an honorary member of the Chamber for his contribution to the support of the shipping industry, and not only, the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vassilis Korkidis, and the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, Giorgos Pateras, each presented a check to the representatives of SYN-ENOSIS and UGS, noting that the Chambers, right from the beginning, practically supported the creation of the National Unified Platform of the Port Community. And, in fact, under the control of this by the Ministry, to avoid individual interventions in the port of Piraeus, which had been opposed by the productive classes of the Piraeus area.
On this occasion, Mr. Korkidis emphasized that the PCCI supports open access to the provision of services, in all directions, by its member companies, rejecting philosophies of excluding them from any actions related to the port, as well as shipbuilding – shipbuilding repair works. The president of the HCS, Giorgos Pateras, referred to the joint effort of the N.E.E., the N.E.E. and of the PCCI for the development of the digital port platform.
On the occasion of the discussion about the platform, the President of the PCCI informed the Minister about the establishment of the Union of Greek Shipyards and the approval of the statutes by the Piraeus Magistrate’s Court, as well as for the purpose thereof, in the presence of the President and Managing Director of the ONEX SA group, Mr. Panos Xenokostas.
Fair competition
We are and will be in favor of free and fair competition, said Mr. Korkidis, calling on the minister to defend the free access of all businesses. Finally, regarding the platform, he noted that, with its operation, among others, it will minimize the bureaucratic and other time-consuming procedures in handling port operations and, above all, the protection of the data of the users of the port facilities throughout the country .
For his part, the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, referred to the peculiarity of the Ministry to bring together a multitude of activities under its umbrella, a unique fact for European data.
Target
Our goal, he said, is to multiply the benefits that the GDP has from maritime activities, and therefore to develop maritime activities, so as to increase the income generated and add to the percentage of GDP. It was, after all, one of the objectives described, among others, in the well-known “blue folder”. In the near future, Mr. Varvitsiotis said, in collaboration with the Ministry, but also the chamber bodies and the Chamber of Commerce, a clearer depiction of the contribution to the GDP of all activities related to maritime activities will be attempted.
At this point, the Minister praised the role of shipping in the country’s economy and GDP, saying that in 2022, 24 billion will flow in, which, essentially, reflects 10% of GDP, a remarkable fact. The shipping companies showed resistance to the crisis, recalling that, 10 years ago, again, from the position of the Minister of Shipping, he said that the way out of this would be to turn to the sea. We took actions and there were visible results, such as, for example, the privatization of the port of Piraeus, thanks to which the port increased its sizes and traffic. We will move forward, added Mr. Varvitsiotis, in combined movements, in order to utilize, to the maximum extent possible, the forces related to maritime activities, noting the next steps that must be taken, so that Piraeus can develop further
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