1. Making Connectivity Work: Transforming the Port of Thessaloniki into a Top Hub for Southeast Europe and Beyond
- Author:
- Panagiotis Paschalidis and Georgia Anastasiou
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
- Abstract:
- The Thessaloniki Port has all the necessary elements to become a top regional, South-East European and international trade hub. The Thessaloniki Port Authority has adopted extrovert and proactive policies for strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries. The Thessaloniki Port’s impact can become even stronger if it is approached and designed on the basis of the notion of connectivity. Connectivity entails the upgrading of both technical and material aspects such as trade and commercial infrastructure (hard module) as well as the institutional and policy framework of cooperation such as agreements at the bilateral and multilateral level with neighboring countries (soft module). The drastic normalization of relations between Greece and North Macedonia can be viewed as an example of a comprehensive upgrading of connectivity with tangible benefits for the improvement of the Port’s regional and international role.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, Infrastructure, Trade, and Port
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Greece, and Thessaloniki