The 5 Most Promising Areas for Economic and Commercial Cooperation Between Greece and Israel

1. Energy and Energy Infrastructure
The leading and most strategic field of cooperation between the two countries:
Great Sea Interconnector (GSI):
An undersea electricity cable spanning 1,208 km that connects the power grids of Greece,
Cyprus, and Israel, valued at €1.9 billion. The project will be completed in two phases with
an initial capacity of 1,000 MW, expandable to 2,000 MW.
EastMed Gas Pipeline:
Israel and Greece have renewed discussions regarding the EastMed pipeline, with the
United States expressing readiness to take a more active role. The pipeline is intended to
transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Israel through Greece to Europe.
Sources: Government reports of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel; EU Connecting Europe
Facility.
2. Defense and Security
A rapidly growing sector with multi-billion-dollar deals:
Achilles Shield Program:
Greece plans to purchase advanced air-defense systems from Israel worth approximately
$3.5 billion, including Spyder, Barak MX, and David’s Sling systems. Greece also intends to
acquire 36 PULS rocket artillery systems from Elbit for $753.6 million.
Military Cooperation:
In 2021, a $1.65 billion agreement was signed to establish and operate a training center for
the Hellenic Air Force. Joint air and naval exercises took place on November 5 and
November 13, 2025.
Sources: Greek Ministry of Defense, Breaking Defense, Reuters, Foundation for Defense
of Democracies.

3. Technology and Startups
A sector with tremendous collaborative potential:
Trends in Israel:
Israeli startups raised $12.2 billion in 2024, a 31% increase compared to 2023.
Cybersecurity accounted for $3.8 billion (36% of total), while artificial intelligence
represented 47% of all investments.
Source: VC Cafe.
Greece’s Growing Ecosystem:
Over €555 million were invested in more than 90 Greek startups in 2024, marking a 15%
increase from the previous year.
Leading sectors include AI, biotechnology, and health technologies.
Source: Found.ation.
Collaboration Initiatives:
The Israel-Greece Chamber of Commerce launched the Israel-Greece High-Tech Forum to
create business opportunities, along with a Defense, Police & Cyber Forum for investment
and partnerships. The Chamber also plans to establish an Infrastructure, Energy & Water
Forum.
4. General Trade
A field experiencing particularly impressive growth:
Trade Figures:
Bilateral trade surged by 41.3% from 2023 to 2024, rising from $920 million to $1.3 billion.
Preliminary estimates suggest trade may triple and reach approximately $4 billion annually.
Sources: Greek City Times; Ynet News.
Israeli Exports to Greece:
Chemicals (41%), basic metals (25%), plastic products (10%), and electrical machinery
(8%).
Source: Israel-Greece business data.
Greek Exports to Israel:
Basic metals (42.2%), electrical machinery (15.7%), and chemicals (6.8%).
Source: Israel-Greece business data.
Additional Sources: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manufacturers Association of Israel,
UN COMTRADE, Trading Economics.
5. Tourism
A sector demonstrating strong recovery despite geopolitical challenges:
Israeli Tourism to Greece:
In 2024, approximately 621,000 Israelis visited Greece, representing 1.7% of all incoming
tourists.
For the March–October 2025 season, more than 1 million airline seats were allocated from
Israel to Greece — a 41% increase compared to 755,000 in 2024.
Strong Growth:
Bookings from Israel for November 2025 increased by 63.8%, with 70,997 additional seats
compared to the previous year.
Israeli tourism generated €419 million in revenue for the Greek economy.
Sources: ProtoThema English, Travel & Tour World.
Additional Sources: INSETE (the research institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation),
Ben Gurion Airport data, Greek National Tourism Organization.
Supporting Reliable Sources
● Governmental Organizations: Greek Ministry of Energy, Greek Ministry of Defense,
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union
● Research Institutes: INSETE, Found.ation, EIT Digital, BESAC Center, FDD
● Statistical Sources: UN COMTRADE, Trading Economics, IVC, Startup Nation
Central
● Professional Media: Reuters, Breaking Defense, Greek City Times, Calcalist
These sectors demonstrate significant growth potential in the coming years, supported by
strong governmental backing from both countries and multi-year strategic agreements.