The International Funding Portal
The International Funding Portal (http://www.aidfunding.mfa.gr), which is being managed by the Foreign Ministrys Special Secretariat for the Development of International Programmes, is mainly aimed at bolstering the participation of the Greek business community and Greek NGOs in development programmes funded by multilateral financial institutions (such as the European Union, the United Nations, and the World Bank), by regional development banks as well as national development authorities in developing countries.
With this objective in mind, interested Greek businesses and NGOs can gain immediate and interactive access through this Portal to an integrated set of assistance services. . These services include, first of all, reliable and timely information on upcoming and current funding opportunities that arise from financing and investment programmes implemented by the main international financial institutions (e.g. EU, UN. World Bank) in the developing world. These opportunities are specified through a search engine for funding opportunities which draws information from a continuously updated specialized database, and through a series of news and announcements that are published either directly through the portal or through the Special Secretariats newsletter, which is sent to registered users at least twice a month. Furthermore, the International Funding Portal gives Greek businesses and NGOs direct access to guidance on how to approach given processes and agencies, by decoding competition procedures within multilateral financial institutions, whereas they can be briefed directly on the Special Secretariats scheduled activities (briefing conferences, seminars, fora, etc.).
Finally, through the International Funding Portal, visitors have the ability to contact directly the Assistance Office (tel.: +30 210 368 4262 Fax: +30 210 368 4145 E-mail: aidfunding@mfa.gr), in order to look for partners either in EU member states or countries that concern different programmes of development assistance. This is particularly important given that an effective claim for external assistance funds directly depends on multi-level networking between Greek authorities and on the formation of strong consortia.
Initiation of public dialogue on the Union for the Mediterranean
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs openly invites all interested parties as part of an integrated effort to strengthen Greeces political and business presence in the Mediterranean in order to contribute with constructive proposals to the drawing up of projects to be implemented as part of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean. This invitation has to do with a public dialogue addressed to public agencies, private companies and agencies from the broader public sector, social partners, and civil society. These proposals will relate to the thematic groups agreed upon within the framework of the Paris Joint Declaration of 13 July 2008, regarding the de-pollution of the Mediterranean sea, land and sea corridors, solar energy, civil protection, education and research, and SMEs. It is of note that the public dialogue process will be held electronically on the website of the Special Secretariat for the Development of International Programmes: www.aidfunding.mfa.gr/bpufm Those who put forward proposals (project ideas) on this website will be able to look for partners in view of the formation of multinational consortia.