23rd Mare Forum Greece
April 3rd, 2025
Eugenides Foundation, Athens
The 23rd Mare Forum Greece took place on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, at the Eugenides Foundation in Athens.
The conference focused on key issues and challenges facing the global maritime community.
The IMO Goodwill Ambassador to Greece delivered the opening remarks and participated as a speaker in the panel titled “Geopolitics First!”. In his address, he highlighted major challenges such as Geopolitical Fragmentation, Economic Protectionism, Energy and Food Security, Maritime Safety, Strategic Supply Chains, and Global Competition.
He emphasized that the rise in geopolitical rivalries, regionalization, and economic nationalism is reshaping global trade and maritime systems. Policies such as the recent tariffs challenge the principles of open, rules-based global trade and are creating frictions across shipping and commercial routes.
He further noted that the Russia–Ukraine war has disrupted key energy and food corridors, exposing vulnerabilities in global supply chains. Regional instability—particularly in the Middle East and the Red Sea—has highlighted the fragility of maritime security.
In this shifting landscape, nations are placing a premium on resilience over efficiency, treating supply chains not merely as economic tools but as strategic assets.
With reference to Europe, the Ambassador underscored the continent’s struggle to stay competitive amid Asia’s dominance in shipbuilding and labor cost advantages, and the growing unilateral trade power and energy independence of the United States.
In closing, the IMO Goodwill Ambassador to Greece called upon young men and women to consider pursuing a maritime career—a profession that remains exceptionally safe and full of promise. Despite seemingly adverse conditions, the maritime sector offers long-term prospects, professional growth, and global engagement. He emphasized that the sea is not only part of our heritage, but also a gateway to opportunity and purpose in the years ahead.
