TIF-Helexpo and the Municipality of Larissa are proceeding with the creation of the 'Agrothessaly' Pan-Hellenic Fair for Agriculture and Livestock, by jointly re-designing the Pan-Hellenic Agricultural-Livestock-Environmental Fair of Larissa, which the local municipality has been organising in the heartland of Greece for the last 20 years. The goal of this new, joint endeavour is to upgrade the fair in question into the largest regional exhibition of the sector. This new project is part of the national exhibition agency's strategy to support rural Greece and agricultural entrepreneurship in practice.

Today, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in Larissa, where 'Agrothessaly' was presented for the first time. 'Agrothessaly' will be held from 9 to 12 March 2017 in the capital of Thessaly and will be held every two years. Participants in the new Fair will include the top companies of the agricultural sector, presenting all the latest trends in rural entrepreneurship and holding a host of parallel events and demonstrations.

Speaking about the new endeavour, Mr Apostolos Kaloyiannis, the Mayor of Larissa, characterised the strategic cooperation between the Municipality and TIF-Helexpo as a particularly positive moment for Larissa during today's Press Conference, noting that this partnership is contributing to the multilateral effort being made by the municipal authority to make Larissa the top regional 'growth pole' in the country. He also stressed that the agreement is putting the city of Larissa on the country's exhibition map in the most decisive manner, while underlining the fact that the Fair can also take on an international character.

"Our goal is for this place, Larissa, to become a venue for the promotion of Greek and international products, providing visitors with information on the latest trends of the sector and creating the opportunity for trade contacts between exhibitors and trade visitors", stated the CEO of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Kyriakos Pozrikidis. He added that "the national exhibition agency, with its long experience in the organisation of 'Agrotica' and 'Zootechnia', two particularly successful fairs, views its cooperation with the Municipality of Larissa, which has done tremendous work for the promotion of the agricultural sector over the course of the last 20 years, as a new 'springboard' for showcasing agricultural entrepreneurship and promoting regional production". As he noted, the two sides will take action by focusing on the creation of a new, modern fair for agriculture and livestock, combining the technical knowledge of the national exhibition knowledge with the knowledge of the Municipality of Larissa regarding the needs of the local community.

Mr Panayiotis Dais, the Deputy Mayor for Finance of the Municipality of Larissa, stressed that the new Fair is a major initiative with a long-term developmental character.

It should be noted that the endeavour already has the support of numerous agencies in the wider area, such as the Region of Thessaly, the Regional Association of Municipalities (PED) of Thessaly, the Larissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Thessalian Enterprises and Industries, the Larissa Hoteliers' Association, the Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Thessaly, etc.

The signing of the agreement was also attended by the Deputy General Director of TIF-Helexpo, Mr A. Tsaxirlis, executives of TIF-Helexpo, Deputy Mayors and city councillors, the Mayor of Agia, Mr A. Goudaras, representatives of Municipalities and enterprises active in the primary sector.