Senior executives from the ports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupoli have held high-level talks in Sofia aimed at deepening cross-border cooperation with Bulgaria and strengthening northern Greece's role as a regional trade gateway between Europe, the Black Sea and beyond.
The two-day mission, organised by the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace under Deputy Minister Konstantinos Gioulekas, brought together delegations from the Thessaloniki Port Authority, Kavala Port Authority and Alexandroupoli Port Authority with counterparts from the Bulgarian ports of Varna on the Black Sea and the Danube port of Ruse, as well as logistics and commercial firms.
All three Greek port chiefs described the meetings as constructive and marked by "lively interest" on both sides. They agreed on two key points: infrastructure upgrades are essential if political will is to translate into tangible results, and the Bulgarian side currently appears more prepared to move quickly.
For Thessaloniki, rail connectivity is the top priority, CEO Ioannis Tsaras stressed, adding that although the rail link to the port has been launched, finalising funding and implementing the works will take time. "We need the exit from the port for its upgrade. The Bulgarians are more organised in this, at least on the section from Sofia to the south," he said. Talks with Bulgarian State Railways focused on cutting transport times and costs, including the prospect of direct cross-border rail services. "At the moment the train arrives, changes driver and locomotive at the border, and we lose a lot of time," Tsaras noted, arguing for seamless operations allowing Bulgarian trains to reach Thessaloniki and Greek trains to travel directly into Bulgaria. Proposals also included routing Ukrainian or Baku-bound cargo through Thessaloniki, though rail bottlenecks remain a constraint.
In Kavala's case, easier access between the port and southern Bulgaria dominated discussions. CEO Angelos Vlachos described the Sofia visit as a continuation of talks begun two years ago and highlighted a joint Greek-Bulgarian request to open an additional border crossing near Nymfaia and Makaza. "It is a common request of both sides that the transport map can change," he said. Without it, cargo landing in Kavala faces higher onward transport costs. "We do not need money, but a crossing point," Vlachos insisted, suggesting Kavala could serve vessels from markets such as India, particularly given congestion in Thessaloniki and the partly military role of Alexandroupoli.
For Alexandroupoli, the focus was on expanding intermodal links and bypassing the Bosporus Straits. CEO Konstantinos Chatzikonstantinou said more than 200 trains have already connected the port with destinations "from Spain and France to Poland and Tallinn in Estonia". With a dedicated rail line to the Greek-Bulgarian border and a new vertical road axis from northern Greece to Ukraine backed by the EU, he argued that the region could evolve into "a large commercial centre" for south eastern Europe.
By Areti Tassoula - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
