Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos outlined a series of factors that he said signal Greece’s exit from the financial crisis, in an address to the 19th annual Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum, in New York City.
Those factors included successful access to capital markets, reducing interest rates on loans, and increasing exports.
Tsakalotos told the conference of potential investors that Greece has adopted policies to improve the investment climate by cutting bureaucratic red tape.
At the same time, he said, the government is directing public investment toward promising sectors that can produce added value.
The minister noted that 2018 will be dominated by negotiation between Greece and its creditors over medium-to-long-term measures to reprofile the Greek debt, and by the government’s effort to create reserves large enough to permit a further interest rate cut and a clean exit from the bailout programmes era.
Tsakalotos said the 2018 budget that the government has tabled in parliament confirms projections and the conditions for a 2018 exit from fiscal adjustment programmes.
“This is the result of hard work by the Greek government and of important sacrifices by Greek citizens,” Tsakalotos said.
Tsakalotos noted a rise in consumer and business trust and stressed that the drop in unemployment is evidence of an improved growth trend.
All of these factors serve to improve trust in the viability of Greece’s public finances, as does the broad spectrum of reforms that have reshaped the Greek economy, he said.
Tsakalotos stressed the importance of just development and noted the government’s social welfare measures to support those most affected by the crisis, the lowest income brackets.
