Akis Dagazian: Bridging Armenia and Greece

In its short period if its existence, HACCI has organized and got involved in a lot of successful projects for the support of the Greek – Armenian economic cooperation. Among the past indicative activities of HACCI we could name the following: (i) International Fair of Thessaloniki (1994-2021), (ii) Official visits of the Presidents of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Costis Stefanopoulos and Mr. Carolos Papoulias to Armenia (1999, 2007 & 2014), (iii) Traditional Products Exhibition – Festival (2010), (iv) Hellenic – Armenian Business Forum (2011, 2014, 2019), (v) MOU with the Armenian Development Agency (2014), Cooperation of Bilateral Chambers based in Greece Initiative (2015), Philoxenia Tourism Exhibition (2018, 2019,2021), Money Show (2019) as well as numerous meetings with businessmen, ministers and prime ministers from both countries.

The Chamber is also supporting several projects in the field of education, culture and charity. It is worth mentioning i.e., that HACCI was the organization behind the introduction of Armenian Language as a foreign language at the University of Macedonia back in 2011.

Although bilateral trade remains relatively low for several reasons which I need a special interview to analyze, we strongly believe that due to our efforts the initial era of mutual skepticism between businessmen of the two countries has given its place to a restrained optimism. Currently, due to the Chamber’s initiatives, all major companies of Armenia in the field of food and beverage are distributed in Greece, Armenian watch brands are also represented here and lately we also witness a gradually increasing flow of tourists in both countries.

Akis, we met in 2019 in Beirut, at the international conference organized by Haigazian University on Armenian communities of Greece and Cyprus, where you presented a paper “History, Revival and Future Challenges: The Armenian Community of Komotini since the 17^th Century.” You also give speeches and lectures all over Greece concerning Armenian history as well as the historic Armenian presence in the region.

Indeed. I became interested in the history of the Armenian presence in Greece since the early years of my childhood. Taking into consideration the fact that our family established in Greece three centuries ago and – all these years up to now – preservation of our national identity, culture and virtues have played a very important role in shaping my own character as well. Moreover, as my late grandfather Sarkis Dagazian was a prominent member of the local Armenian community and president of the council of the Armenian Community of Komotini during the tough years of the interwar period I had the honor to inherit an important family archive and thus primary research material. Studying Political Science and International Studies at the renown Panteion University of Athens gave me the opportunity to improve my research skills as well as the ability to conduct my essays on several fields that have to do with the history of Armenians in Greece. My research is still in progress and God willing, I am aiming to publish more announcements and papers in the future in cooperation with other scholars.

Now you live between Greece and Estonia – why? For Diaspora Armenians it is unusual to live and work in a Baltic country.

Due to my business activities that cover a wide range of sectors apart from jewelry trading such as finance, capital markets and renewable energy sources, I have first visited the Baltics back in 1999. All three states had the potentials of growth because of the convergence process of their economies due to the EU enlargement. Particularly Estonia was and still is the global pioneer in digital governance and retains the friendliest corporate environment. Foreigners can obtain an e-residency status and can operate their companies literally remotely. A businessman can establish a company in Estonia within 18 minutes including the time needed for the wire transfer of the share capital!!! Right now, the only thing an individual cannot do in Estonia is get married or divorce. They have even been voting online since 2007. For all these reasons we have preferred to come and invest in Estonia.

Are you in touch with Tallinn Armenians?

Being an active part of a global nation, we already had our contacts and friendships with Estonian Armenians even before we started our business activities in the country. Thus, we kept and even expanded our contacts after our establishment in the country. Unlike Greece, all of the Estonian Armenians have settled in Estonia during the Soviet times.

How do you see further cooperation between Armenia and Greece?

Despite the common historical background and cultural similarities, for several reasons the two nations have not yet realized the full potential or even the necessity for their cooperation. We need to work on a long-term master plan between the two countries in order to enhance our bilateral collaboration in every possible field such as education, cultural exchanges, sports, economy, tourism, technology, finance, diplomacy, defense just to mention some of them.

In terms of geopolitics our interests are or should be common but we all know that Armenia is relying on a wide scale cooperation with Russia and Greece is aligned with its NATO and EU partners. At the same time both Greece and especially Armenia are facing their own diverse internal and external challenges.

Nevertheless, we can still deepen our partnership and the Armenian community in Greece with its institutions should be the starting point and cornerstone of every such endeavor.

Despite the fact that numerous agreements have been signed between the two states only a few are effectively implemented due to several reasons that have to do with the well-known large-scale bureaucracy that both countries need to work and comply with. If you want my opinion, a specific high level intergovernmental committee should be formed setting the tasks and targets of our partnership. This body should meet physically or remotely every month to observe, surveil or reset the implementation of each project in every field.

Here, at the Hellenic Armenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Greece, both myself and our team, we are fully devoted to our scope, we are cooperating with all ministries, organizations as well as any institution in Greece or Armenia being flexible and active enough to overcome any potential obstacle in order to bring immediate and solid results.