By Natasa Stasinou

 

 

Representatives of the Greek government, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission, as well as leading executives of Greek businesses, presented their proposals for Greece's productive reconstruction at the 3rd Naftemporiki Economic Conference entitled "Productive Greece in the next decade" which was organized at Zappeion Mansion.

 

The Conference and the Special Edition of "Naftemporiki" , focus on the great challenges of Greece's entrepreneurship, the financial tools for enhancing growth, the dedication to Greek tourism as the steam engine of the Greek economy, the major projects that are launched in the direction of upgrading the role of Greece as a modern and powerful transport hub of SE Europe, as well as the National Plan for Energy and Climate.

 

Greece to become an attractive destination for investments."

 

The Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos, spoke about the new production model at the 3rd "Naftemporiki" economic conference entitled "Productive Greece in the next decade."

 

Theodorikakos stated about the national necessity of restructuring the Greek economy and promoting a new production model", speaking of "a modern, competitive, innovative and extroverted Greece".

 

"A new productive model of innovation and extroversion, which responds to competition and challenges," the Minister of Development added.

 

Furthermore, Theodorikakos stressed that incentives are provided to businesses, such as financial tools, business facilitation, and access to loans, as well as to small and medium sized enterprises.

 

"We aspire," as he said, "to fill the investment gap created in the decade of the crisis."

 

"At the same time, we are moving forward with a second round of reforms to reduce bureaucratic procedures, with the aim of facilitating businesses, especially those with export activity," the Minister of Development underlined.

 

The government's goal, as he said, is for "Greece to become an attractive destination for investments."

 

Theodorikakos stressed that "citizens are at the center of our policies", while he said that the government aims "to improve the daily life of citizens."

 

He focused on the government's goals to increase the minimum wage to 950 euros in three years and the average wage to 1,500 euros, because, as he said, "we want our children to return to Greece."

 

The governor of the Bank of Greece

 

The prospects of the Greek economy, the role of investments and the conditions for their support were highlighted by the governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, during his speech at the 3rd Naftemporiki Economic Conference.

 

Stournaras welcomed the recent announcements by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Development regarding the new production model, which – as he noted – are moving in a positive direction.

 

"The Greek economy is growing at a rate much higher than that of the Eurozone"

 

In an overview of the current situation, the governor of the Bank of Greece emphasized that the Greek economy continues to grow at a rate much higher than that of the Eurozone, while the fiscal figures are also improving at a rate better than expected.

 

"Additional reforms"

 

The governor of the Bank of Greece also stressed that more reforms are needed to improve the operation of key sectors of the state. 

 

He also described the role of investments as decisive for the course of the economy. "Investments determine everything, productivity and competitiveness, it is the catalyst today for changing the growth pattern with an emphasis on improving competitiveness, effectively dealing with climate change and green growth," he said.

 

Stournaras also highlighted the importance of a healthy banking sector. He pointed out the progress that has been made in terms of the consolidation of the financial sector, the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the sector, but also the further reduction of non-performing loans.

 

A productive Greece is a strong Greece

 

The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, spoke about the digital transformation of the state at the 3rd Naftemporiki Economic Conference entitled "Productive Greece in the next decade."

 

Dimitris Papastergiou emphasized that "a productive Greece is a strong Greece."

 

Referring to the government work, he said that "thanks to the efforts of this government, we see the indicators going much better," underlining that in several cases the indicators show that our country is "even above the European average."

 

The Minister of Digital Governance referred to the digitization of the public sector and "the skills we need to develop."

 

"We live in a time when things are changing rapidly," he pointed out, referring to technological and digital developments. "Will everything totally change?" he asked, saying that it "will definitely do so" and stressing the need for transitional changes to be implemented. "The good news is that we are improving," Papastergiou added.

 

Referring to the issue of Artificial Intelligence, the Minister of Digital Governance said that "there is interest for an artificial intelligence factory."