12/10/2007

The 1st Hi-Tech Innovators' Partenariat held in Thessaloniki on 5-6 October 2007 wihtin the framework of the International Infosystem 2007 Exhibition was a major success. The Partenariat, which was the first Greek business event in the hi-tech and innovation sector, was organised by the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board (HEPO) under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance & Economy and the Ministry of Development with the support of sectoral associations and bodies such as the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Small Industry Chamber of Thessaloniki, the Exporters Union of Northern Greece, the Northern Greece Federation of IT Enterprises, HELEXPO, the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece and the Hellenic Centre for Investment. The event was actively supported by the National Documentation Centre (EKT), was promoted abroad via the European Network for Innovation Relay Centres (IRCs) and attracted the participation of a large number of Greek enterprises.

Overall, 100 Greek and 153 foreign companies from 26 countries took part, including representatives from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Japan, India, Canada and China. 1,633 business meetings were held, covering all hi-tech and innovation sectors, such as telecoms and IT, research and development into new products and services, and others.

The Greek companies and sectoral bodies asked that the Partenariat be held every year, stressing its role in promoting substantive networking between Greek and foreign companies. It is worth noting that the representatives of foreign enterprises made particularly encouraging comments about the level of Greek hi-tech and innovation companies, considering their level extremely satisfactory, and many Greek companies were invited to take part in a second round of trade talks.

The largest number of business meetings was recorded in the software sector with 459 meetings. This was followed by information management with 293 meetings, digital technology with 241, research technology with 222, energy and other innovation sectors 197, hardware with 185 and biotechnology with 36.

In parallel with the Infosystem Exhibition and the 1st Hi-Tech Innovators' Partenariat, an international conference was also held, entitled "Greece as the gateway to SE Europe and the Mediterranean, to develop business partnerships in the fields of hi-tech and innovation". A special robotics demonstration was also give

Source: Hi-Tech Partenariat