Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said Greece would cease to be the most indebted country in the EU by 2029, addressing political and financial representatives and dignitaries from the diplomatic corps, including French Ambassador to Greece Laurence Auer, during the annual formal dinner at the French-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFG-CCI France Grèce) on Thursday on the occasion of the organization’s 140th anniversary.
Pierrarakis, who was the evening’s keynote speaker, expressed his optimism about the course of the Greek economy, citing his recent participation in the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings. The minister went on to note that the Greek economy was in the strongest position of its recent history after overcoming a “difficult economic adventure.”
“We have, as a matter of fact, now succeeded in achieving much stronger and significantly improved economic performance—this constitutes the most solid foundation for everything we can accomplish as we look toward the future,” a government official stated.
He went on to add, “By 2029, Greece is expected—based on GDP terms—not to be the most indebted country in Europe. We are projecting growth of 2.3%, which is multiple times higher than the European average. Of course, this path follows a lost decade for Greece. It comes after immense hardship, after losing a quarter of our GDP, after unbearable social costs, and after a tremendous effort by the Greek people to overcome an extremely difficult period.”
Addressing the French Ambassador, Laurence Auer, the Finance Minister referred to “a major national and economic outcome in the field of defense—both in our defense cooperation with France and in the defense procurements: the Rafale jets and the Belharra frigates.”
