The pivotal geostrategic role of eastern Macedonia and Thrace, as well as the outstanding developmental prospects that are emerging for the region as a whole and the city of Alexandroupolis in particular, were the focus of the City Hub Event: “East Macedonia Thrace Forum II”, which is being held in Alexandroupolis for a second consecutive year.

The event is an initiative of City Hub, the new awareness campaign from Alter Ego Media, and has been staged in cooperation with Tsomokos Communications. The first day of the conference was officially opened by the CEO of Alter Ego Media, Ioannis Vrentzos, who spoke about the significance of the choice of venue, as well as about the special role that investment in Alexandroupolis can play in the current context.

“The aim of the conference is to prove that the transformation of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace into an energy, trade and development hub for the wider region is not wishful thinking, but rather an entirely workable project,”  Vrentzos noted. “The choice of Alexandroupolis was certainly anything but random. Some years ago, we would have called the city peripheral and remote, perhaps even forgotten. But at Alter Ego, we are thoroughly convinced that, while these terms may have accurately described the capital of Evros in the past, they are a poor match for the conditions and challenges of the 21st century,” he emphasized, stressing that Alexandroupolis is a center that can spearhead development for the entire region and inaugurate a new era for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. “The wealth, talent, ideas and appetite are all here,” he said and ended his speech by thanking the pupils from the 2nd Senior High School of Orestiada and the 2nd Vocational Training College of Alexandroupolis who had taken part in To BHMA’s award-winning publishing project with their student newspapers. The students then had the opportunity to pose questions to the ministers who were taking part in the first day of the conference. The president of Delphi Economic Forum, Simeon Tsomokos, also addressed the conference.

The US Ambassador to Greece, George Tsunis, was also present at the conference. With the port of Alexandroupolis forming a backdrop, where the giant 200-meter-long American container ship “Liberty Pride” has been docked since early March, unloading military supplies destined for NATO forces in SE Europe, he noted that Greek-US relations are the best they have ever been before announcing the Greek Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to the White House on April 4.

Referring to the pivotal role of Alexandroupolis, the US ambassador noted that Washington’s geostrategic interest in the port continues to grow, underlining that large amounts of NATO military equipment have been transported through it so far, and more will be transported this month.

“The reconstruction of Ukraine will begin from Greece,” Tsunis said, in highlighting the port city’s significant location.

“There is no other city in Greece that has more potential than Alexandroupolis and it is up to us to take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest,” he added.

The conference was also attended by the US Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, who spoke in detail about the “Vertical Corridor” and the supply of natural gas via Greece to Ukraine, Central Europe and the Western Balkans.

“At the E. Macedonia & Thrace Forum II, I highlighted that infrastructure from to , the Vertical Corridor, enables LNG imported thru to fill storage in , providing a new source of energy security for Central Europe & W. Balkans & contributing to reducing price volatility,” was the Tweet (X) later posted by Pyatt, the previous US ambassador to Athens before Tsunis. 

The second day of the conference opens today with a speech by the Hellenic Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis.