The President of the Hellenic Republic is on a two-day official trip in South Korea. On Tuesday, Papoulias, who is accompanied by a Greek businessmen delegation, inaugurated a Greek-Korean business forum and invited Korean companies to invest in Greece, taking advantage of the infrastructure and fiscal reforms in the country. 

Speaking on the advantage of Greek ports in global trade, Papoulias said, "Greece is at the crossroads of three continents and is an entry gate to Europe...Piraeus has already become the fastest-developing port in Europe, with speedy growth in international trade, transshipment and transit towards European markets;" he also mentioned the ports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alxandroupoli in northern Greece. Extolling the close cooperation of Greek ship-owners with and Korean shipyards, the Greek President stated that Greece was first in number of ships and in tonnage among merchant fleets globally, while the Republic of Korea was first globally in ship repairs.