Meeting at Maximos Mansion

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, at Maximos Mansion on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Government sources said the meeting confirmed the excellent relations between the two countries and their shared wish to deepen the strategic partnership, particularly in investment. Mitsotakis opened the talks by welcoming his guest and thanking him for making time to visit. The Crown Prince said Greece and the UAE are marking 50 years of diplomatic relations, and he said he looked forward to the day's discussions.

“Your Highness, we are delighted to welcome you to Greece and thank you for taking the time to visit us.”

Mitsotakis said the visit came during a period of great regional turmoil, and that such moments call for reinforcing strategic partnerships that have produced tangible results. He described the bilateral relationship as one he personally values highly. He also said the leaders had a chance to review developments in the region and to discuss how the two countries could work together as pillars of stability.

Investment and cooperation

The two sides discussed Emirati investment in Greece and noted that a target of 4 billion euros in direct investment, set in 2022, has been exceeded. That target came from a Strategic Investment Cooperation Agreement among the Hellenic Development Bank, the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments and the UAE state investment fund ADQ. Tourism, energy, artificial intelligence and its applications, infrastructure and defence were also on the agenda. Mitsotakis said a number of significant business agreements between companies from the two countries would be signed during the visit.

Speaking at the Investopia Mediterranean Athens conference, government vice-president Kostis Hatzidakis named energy, trade and artificial intelligence as priority areas for expanding cooperation with the UAE. He said Greece has been an energy exporter since 2024 and is investing in energy storage, power grids and interconnections with Italy, Albania, Cyprus and Egypt. He also pointed to the Vertical Corridor gas infrastructure project, which he said could improve energy security across south-eastern and central Europe.

“Geopolitical tensions and disruptions in supply chains have shown how vulnerable global trade can be.”

Regional context and the UN candidacy

Mitsotakis presented Greece as a bridge between Europe and the Gulf, saying the security and economic futures of the two regions are increasingly linked. He cited Greece's leading role in the EU's ASPIDES operation, which he said helps safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The talks come after Libya's House of Representatives approved the 2019 Turkish-Libyan memorandum on maritime zones. Athens has rejected that decision, arguing that it does not change the memorandum's illegal and baseless character.

Mitsotakis also congratulated the Crown Prince on the nomination of a candidate with strong qualifications for the post of United Nations Secretary-General. He noted that Greece holds the presidency of the UN Security Council in October and said Athens would try to speed up the procedures toward the most beneficial outcome, one that the General Assembly could also accept.

“This partnership is an agreement to which we attach great importance.”

The meeting closes a week in which Greece has been stressing its ties with Gulf partners while also pressing its position in the Eastern Mediterranean.