Technology and innovation are the hallmarks of the USA participation as the honoured country at the 83rd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) from 8 to 16 September 2018. More than 30 major US companies will participate in the pavilion of the country, while on the occasion of the exhibition, Mr. Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce of the Trump administration, will be visiting Thessaloniki. By participating as the honoured country at this year’s TIF, the USA is seeking to feature Greece and Thessaloniki as the centre of developments in the wider region, while creating at the same time development opportunities for the country.
As the President of the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Simos Anastasopoulos, points out, the aim is to create perspectives for cooperation in technology and innovation, two areas in which the USA is distinguished and is the world’s leading. The interest in investment in Greece, where US companies are already dynamic, especially in the technology sector, is very large and mainly in energy, tourism, real estate and logistics, areas with potential that exceeds the country’s risk.
40 companies
The US participation at the 83rd TIF will ‘‘occupy’’ No. 13 Pavilion, the largest of the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre. Around 40 companies, which are active in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, green environmental technologies, aeronautics, information technology and communications, will be hosted in this venue. Among the companies involved are Lockheed Martin, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Cisco. The orientation of the Pavilion favours the interactive presentations, so that everyone understands how technology and innovation play a key role in development. That is why, in addition to the exhibition stands of the companies, there will be a central venue for events, discussions, artistic happenings as well as a separate seminar room. The US participation in this year’s TIF will be enriched with parallel events. The agenda includes the Energy Forum for the South-Eastern Europe, the round-table discussion with the participation of Secretary Ross and CEOs of multinational companies, as well as the Transatlantic Cooperation Conference in which representatives of regional American chambers will participate. There will also be a forum for cybersecurity as well as a debate on attracting investment in Southeastern Europe.
It is noteworthy that on the occasion of the presence of the USA at No.13 Pavilion , the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Policy and the TIF – Helexpo are organizing the group participation of start ups at No. 12 Pavilion in order to demonstrate the Greek dynamics in this critical area of the modern economy. Besides, in Greece – and particularly in Thessaloniki where the Alexander Innovation Zone is based – many start-up companies operate, the scope of which far exceeds the borders of the country.
