Mitsotakis and Pyatt among speakers at 22nd Capital Link Forum (video)

The 22nd Annual, Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum: Greece – Looking Ahead with Confidence presents top-level speakers discussing a comprehensive, authoritative, and insightful blueprint on business and investment opportunities in Greece.

Speakers from the U.S. and Greek Governments, Private Sector CEOs, and International Bankers and Investors are participating in the Virtual Forum available to a global audience on Tuesday, Dec. 15 and Wednesday, Dec. 16, 8:30 AM-3:40 PM EST.

This is an International Summit about Greece in New York organized in cooperation with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and major global investment banks.

This year, the Forum will focus on two main themes: The specific government and private sector initiatives to steer Greece through the COVID-19 economy, position it for a return to a sustainable growth economy, and attract foreign investment, and a blueprint of the trends, developments, business and investment opportunities in each of the main sectors of the economy.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt is among those participating in the 22nd Annual Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum taking place online on Dec. 15-16. On the first day of the Forum, Ambassador Pyatt spoke of Greece as a country "that can deliver solutions to the challenges that the United States faces in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans."

Pyatt referred to what Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had said during his visit to the White House in January, when he told President Trump that he wanted "to see the U.S.-Greece trade and investment relationship rise to the same high level as our defense and security cooperation."

The ambassador also underlined that "the United States shares that goal."

The American diplomat also praised the work carried out so far by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance and Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, saying that his team has “made tremendous progress in digitizing government processes during the pandemic."

Greek Ambassador to the U.S. Alexandra Papadopoulou also spoke at the Forum noting that, “Despite the global economic impact of the pandemic, the Greek economy remains stable, providing a favorable investment environment and attracting constant interest from U.S. companies, thanks to its highly trained human resources, as evidenced by the recent investment of Microsoft in our country, as well as with the presence in the Greek market of many other large U.S. companies such as Pfizer, Deloitte, and Cisco.

“In good and bad times, Greece has proven to be a pillar of stability in the Southeastern Europe / Eastern Mediterranean region. A stable democracy with full respect for the rule of law and with high institutional standards of a Member State of the European Union, and, therefore, a credible partner of the United States, having common values and strategic goals.”

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted in his speech that when he addressed the 21st Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum last year, “no one could have predicted the magnitude and nature of the challenges the world was about to face.”

He said that his “near term priority is to make sure that we keep jobs alive and that businesses and workers receive the support they need to get through this difficult period.”

Mitsotakis also said, “I am confident that once we recover, the productive capacity of the economy won’t have been severely damaged,” adding that “in spite of 2020’s turbulence… the main point I made last year is no less relevant, we were elected on a platform of reforms to change the country. I firmly believe that Greece deserves to be at the forefront of global policy-making and I am confident that as the pandemic subsides Greece will be on the side of the winners with a rapid recovery fueled by the reforms that have already been put in place.”

“The pandemic also creates significant opportunities,” Mitsotakis said, noting that “it has shown that decentralized and remote working is here to stay and in this case, I cannot think of many places to live that combine the set of advantages that Greece has to offer- a country blessed with natural beauty and a government focused on attracting global capital.”

Mitsotakis also pointed out some of the tax reforms and mentioned that “we are also introducing a series of tax incentives for Greeks of the diaspora but also for foreigners who choose to work in Greece. We have a significant global talent pool that we can leverage to attract investments and enhance our growth prospects.”

“When it comes to cutting down the red tape for investments we have taken decisive steps to ease the burden for businesses by simplifying licensing and removing obstacles that distract them from doing what they’re meant to- create products and services,” Mitsotakis said.

Greece will achieve an average growth rate of 3.5 percent in the years 2021 to 2030, said Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras during the Capital Link Forum, provided Greece remains committed to structural reforms.

He pointed out that his projected figures were based on the 72 billion euros in financial support that Greece will absorb from the EU's Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds, and also from the Next Generation EU (NGEU) recovery response plan to the coronavirus crisis.

The proposals included in the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan for Greece are fully aligned with the Bank of Greece's recent policy proposals, he noted.

The Forum continues online:

To access the agenda:

https://forums.capitallink.com/greece/2020/

For complimentary registration:

https://forumgreece2020.capitallink.com/

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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