Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ address at the 8th Strategic Forum themed “Investment in Greece and growth prospects 2021”- Main points (14.07.2021)
“Entrepreneurs and professionals of West Athens are at the heart and core of our attention”, was the message sent by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis speaking today, July 14, 2021, at the 8th Strategic Forum themed “Investments in Greece & Growth Prospects 2021”, co-organized by the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen and the Hellenic Institute of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development.
“Europe needs to grow by strengthening small and medium-sized businesses at European level”, the Alternate Minister added, stressing that, so far, Europe has provided us with political stability, access to markets, identity, new tools and the opportunity for cheap credit, without which we would never be able to cope in this difficult period of globalization.
Referring to the Recovery Fund and the astronomical, as he underscored, amount of funds allocated to Greece, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that after hard negotiations, Greece received more money per capita than any other EU country and that “the best use of this money is a huge challenge for the business sector and the Greek public administration”.
The Alternate Minister also noted that at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “we try to facilitate Greek businesses in matters great and small, to expand the country’s horizons but also to deepen our relations with EU countries so that Greece can, by strengthening its credibility, become a target country either for investment, tourism, trade or even for transfer of know-how”. He also recalled the recent initiatives taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aiming at enhancing Greece’s business openness, such as the business visa, the student visa, and the most recent digital nomad visa.
“We believe that Greece can only grow if it opens up to the world, if it turns its sight to its international environment and the opportunities being developed in it”, Mr. Varvitsiotis concluded.