Greek PM meets with Microsoft chief in NYC, as tech giant moving ahead with new data centers in greater Athens area

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Microsoft President Brad Smith on Thursday in New York City, as the former is in the US metropolis for the 76th annual UN general assembly, and with discussions focusing directly on the tech giant’s investments in Greece.

According to reports, Microsoft is pushing ahead with its projects in Greece, even in the face of difficulty created by the pandemic. The Greek economy’s dynamism and resilience was also discussed.

The fact that one of the world’s tech and software giants is planning investments in the east Mediterranean country and that the latter’s premier is discussing Greece’s economic dynamism – amid a pandemic – with the former’s top executive would have been considered beyond far-fetched several years ago.

Mitsotakis first met with Smith at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020, with initial cooperation between the Greek side and Microsoft focusing on the ancient Olympia site in southwestern mainland Greece.

The first mostly symbolic project was soon followed up by news that Microsoft will build and operate data centers in the greater Athens area in the coming months, whereas its headquarters in Greece has recorded one of the highest number of new hirings of all Microsoft offices internationally.