‘’The land of opportunity has its doors wide open for profitable investments. Greece has returned, is here and invites you to become part of this,’’ Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a videotaped greeting to the 19th annual Capital Link Forum for investors in New York City.
Tsipras said he is in a position to say that his government’s efforts have produced strong results. He underlined that the Greek economy is growing after years of recession, while GDP is projected to increase by 2.5 percentage points in 2018, while unemployment has dropped and investment increased in the last nine months of 2017.
‘’ We have surpassed our fiscal targets,’’ the PM said, noting that American investors are among the biggest in Greece and that he expects them to continue on the same path, so as to exploit the country’s real development prospects.
Tsipras maintained that the US and Greece are determined to bolster their bilateral economic ties, as evidenced in the Greek decision to declare the US the honoured country at the next annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, the premier economic event showcasing the country’s economy.
The fair will come straight on the heels of Greece’s planned August exit from its last bailout memorandum , Tsipras noted, asserting that Greece is focusing on the next chapter for the Greek economy. ‘’It will be an era of growth, beyond austerity and recession,’’ he said.
Papadimitriou stresses structural reforms
Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou stressed that Greece’s new development strategy will be centred on a new productive model that is investment-friendly and export-oriented.
Papadimitriou said that the 2018 prospects for the Greek economy look positive, and he predicted that trust in the Greek economy will be bolstered by the successful completion of the bailout programme and by the full implementation of the attached economic reforms.
Costello says Greece must avoid new bailouts
Declan Costello, the European Commission’s representative in the group of Greece’s creditors, stressed that growth is the greatest challenge in ensuring the viability of the Greek debt.
Costello said that although Greece has corrected many economic imbalances and has exhibited notable progress in adopting the reforms demanded by the ESM, it is obvious that viable growth presupposes that Greece will keep up its implementation of structural reforms.
‘’We must not see new programmes for Greece, but instead the implementation of the measures and of investment projects,’’ Costello said.
Thumbs up from FitchCharles Seville, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings, North America Sovereign Ratings, said that, ‘’We see encouraging signs that Greece can secure access to the markets.’’
