Αποφάσεις - Ανακοινώσεις — ΦΕΚ A' 92/2013

Τις διατάξεις της Συμφωνίας οικονομικής, επιστημονικής και τεχνικής συνεργασίας μεταξύ των Κυβερνήσεων της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας και της Ινδίας η οποία υπογράφηκε στην Αθήνα στις 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 1983 και κυρώθηκε με τον ν. 1495/1984, που δημοσιεύθηκε στο υπ’ αριθμ. 178 Φύλλο της Εφημερίδος της Κυβερνήσεως, τεύχος Α΄, της 14ης Νοεμβρίου 1984.

Τη διάταξη του άρθρου δευτέρου του ως άνω κυρωτικού νόμου σύμφωνα με την οποία τα ΠρωτόκολλαΠρακτικά που καταρτίζονται από την Μικτή Επιτροπή του άρθρου 5 της Συμφωνίας εγκρίνονται με Κοινή Πράξη των αρμοδίων κατά περίπτωση Υπουργών.

Τις διατάξεις του άρθρου 90 της Κωδικοποίησης της νομοθεσίας για την Κυβέρνηση και τα Κυβερνητικά όργανα (π.δ. 63 − ΦΕΚ 98/Α/22.4.2005).

Το γεγονός ότι εκ της εφαρμογής των διατάξεων του υπό έγκριση Πρωτοκόλλου δεν προκαλείται πρόσθετη δαπάνη σε βάρος του κρατικού προϋπολογισμού πλέον αυτής που προκύπτει από τις βασικές διατάξεις της Συμφωνίας και που είχε εκτιμηθεί στην Έκθεση του Γενικού Λογιστηρίου του Κράτους.

Το περιεχόμενο του υπό έγκριση Πρωτοκόλλου, αποφασίζουμε: Εγκρίνουμε ως έχει και στο σύνολό του το Πρωτόκολλο της 6ης Συνόδου της Ελληνο−Ινδικής Μικτής Οικονομικής Επιτροπής, που υπεγράφη στην Αθήνα στις 28 Μαρτίου 2011, το κείμενο του οποίου σε πρωτότυπο στην αγγλική γλώσσα και σε μετάφραση στην ελληνική έχει ως εξής: 1345 (ATHENS, 28.03.2011) The sixth Session of the India - Hellenic Joint Economic Committee, set up under the Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Hellenic Republic, was held in Athens on March 28th, 2011. The Indian Delegation was headed by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia and the Hellenic Delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Spyros Kouvelis. The Session was jointly inaugurated by Mr. Spyros Kouvelis, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Government of the Hellenic Republic and by Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Government of the Republic of India. The composition of the two Delegations is at Annex I. The adopted agenda for the Joint Committee meeting is at Annex II. The two Sides took note of the present levels of trade and investment flows and agreed that all efforts would be made to strengthen bilateral trade and investment in fields of economic activity presenting opportunities on both sides. The deliberations of the Joint Economic Committee and discussions between the two sides took place in a cordial atmosphere, reflecting friendly relations between the two countries and their desire to strengthen and further develop their economic and commercial relations on the basis of mutual benefit. The Heads of the two Delegations discussed the economic situation of their countries, exchanged views on WTO issues and regional and multilateral development. Both sides shared the view that at the present time, when the world economy is still facing many difficulties and uncertainty, solutions should be sought for closer mutual economic cooperation as well as for promotion of multilateral and inter-regional trade and removal of existing barriers to trade. Both Sides agreed that the Joint Economic Committee mechanism needs to be strengthened by holding regular meetings alternately in the two countries, to boost economic engagement and suggest measures to enhance bilateral trade and investment flows. The deliberations of the Joint Committee meeting reflected the warm and friendly relations between the two countries. Discussions were held with the intention of establishing a partnership between the two countries, as well as of further strengthening bilateral economic and commercial relations. European Union, South – Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, its geographical and economic position as a gateway to the European Union and South-Eastern Europe, as well the numerous areas of opportunity for investments and joint ventures for Indian businesspersons that arise. He expressed Greece’s keen desire to attract Indian investments, especially following the recent adoption of the new legislative framework for investment in Greece, as well as to strengthen trade and economic relations with India. The leader of the Indian delegation highlighted the rapid growth of the Indian economy in recent years and its emergence as a major investor in some of the EU countries. He also expressed India's keen interest to widen and intensify the scope of bilateral economic relations in the identified areas of mutual interest between India and Greece.

TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN GREECE AND INDIA 2.1 Cooperation in the field of Trade 2.1(a) Review of bilateral trade Both Sides reviewed bilateral trade over the past few years. Although bilateral trade between the two countries had been gradually increasing since 2000-01, since 2007 onwards bilateral trade marked a decline mainly due to the global economic situation; consequently, it was agreed that intensive efforts would be made to promote and expand bilateral exchanges. 2.1(b) Measures for developing bilateral trade Diversification of composition of trade Both Sides noted that there is a need to enhance cooperation in traditional areas of trade and also to diversify the bilateral trade mix, in order to include nontraditional items. They noted the rapid economic changes taking place in both countries and agreed that concrete measures were necessary to harvest the opportunities that arise. The setting up of joint ventures and the enhancement of bilateral direct investment flows were pointed out as particularly promising sectors. Both Sides noted that substantial possibilities for enhanced trade and investment cooperation existed in Tourism, Agriculture, Maritime sector, Air Transport, Science and Technology, Construction and Infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology, Pharmaceuticals and Traditional Systems of Medicines, Bio-technology, Engineering sector, Renewable Energy Sources, and Green Technologies. 2.1 (c) Participation in fairs and exhibitions Reiterating the recognition of the significance of fairs and exhibitions for the promotion of bilateral trade, the two Sides expressed their desire to further support their companies and other organizations to participate in fairs and exhibitions taking place in the two countries, as in the past. The Indian Side informed that the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) has been regularly participating in the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair (Greece) and indicated interest to participate in other important international fairs in Greece. The Indian Side once again requested the Hellenic Delegation to urge the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board (HEPO) and other 2.2 Bilateral institutional framework 2.2(a) Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) An Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income is applied between the Republic of Greece and the Republic of India since January 1st 1964. Both Sides had expressed their wish to revise this Agreement in order to meet worldwide modern economic standards. A revised text was initialed in May 2005. Later, the Indian Side requested for a revision in Article 8 of the agreed text. The Indian Side proposed a compromise formulation to break the gridlock on article 8 and requested the Hellenic Side to respond. Both sides are still negotiating to resolve this issue. The revised Agreement will further enable both economic communities to benefit of potential investments in an updated legal framework. Both Sides have also stressed their devotion in continuing efforts for a quick and mutually beneficial resolution of the arisen issue that will lead to the revision of the aforementioned Agreement. 2.2(b) Air services Agreement Both Sides agreed to continue their efforts to promote air transport relations and they committed themselves to arrange a meeting at their earliest convenience, in order to finalize the initialing of the bilateral Air Services Agreement, negotiations upon which commenced in 2007, for the purpose of creating a concrete legal environment, which will encourage and facilitate the airlines of both Sides. 2.3 Investment Cooperation Both Sides encourage the signing of Memoranda of Understanding in the field of investment promotion cooperation between the Hellenic Organization “Invest in Greece” and the Indian organization “Invest India”, respectively, in order to further facilitate bilateral investment flows. Both Sides reaffirmed their will to continue their cooperation aiming at enhancing and expanding business ties between Greek and Indian entities in the field of investment and the promotion of investment opportunities. The implementation Agencies for this purpose on the Hellenic side is the Organization “Invest in Greece”, and on the Indian side the organizations “Invest India”, respectively. The Hellenic side presented sectors of the Greek economy that offer a particularly high potential of attracting foreign investment, including Renewable Energy Sources and Green Technologies, Tourism, Agriculture, Maritime Transportation, Ports Development and related services, Air Transport, Science and Technology, Bio-technology, Infrastructure Development, Metal Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology. The Indian side stated that India offers tremendous investment opportunities in all manufacturing industries, chemicals, drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure, active in India; Greek investment in India is focused on the fields of Industry, Machinery and Equipment, Mining, Packaging Materials & Machinery, Research, Textiles, Retail Trade and other Services.