6th Delphi Economic Forum to begin in Greece
The six-day Delphi Economic Forum 2021 will begin in Athens today.
The blockbuster annual forum will bring together political, business, academic and religious leaders from across Greece and the broader Hellenic diaspora to discuss issues related to Athens’ post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change and security concerns vis-a-vis Turkey. Opening today’s forum is President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
The forum comes amidst heightened Greek-Turkish tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean over competing claims on exclusive economic zones and energy reserves. The forum’s final day will almost exclusively discuss Turkey.
President Sakellaropoulou will open today’s forum by emphasizing the audience’s Pan-Hellenic ties and Athens’ legacy as the cradle of democracy, tying Greece’s polity to its influential audience members. Strengthened ties will be necessary as Turkey—though stemming its diplomatically fractious activities in the Eastern Mediterranean—has continued to win allies among Libya and Egypt, advancing the normalization of its maritime claims. Nevertheless, the forum will attract greater attention to Greece’s maritime dispute narrative in the short-term, pressuring the US and EU to reign Ankara in. Expect an increased US naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in the medium- to long-term from soft-power strategies like today, though Washington’s preoccupation with the South China Sea will continue.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
