During his visit to London, from Thursday, 10 November, to Tuesday, 15 November, Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos met with representatives of the British government and opposition, as well as with union representatives, and spoke at prominent British universities.
More specifically, Mr. Katrougalos met with Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Alan Duncan, and the Minister of State at the Department fo Exiting the European Union (DExEU), David Jones.
Mr. Katrougalos also met with the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, the Shadow Minister for International Trade, Bill Esterson, Shadow Minister of State Khalid Mahmood, and the General Secretaries of the UNITE and TUC unions.
During his stay in London, Mr. Katrougalos spoke at a British-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce event on “Greece: An economic overview and investment opportunities,” referring to the positive prospects of the Greek economy and investments, and stressing that the government has moved ahead to very important structural reforms, with emphasis on sustainable development and social policies against austerity. He also underscored that Greece now offers many investment opportunities, not just due to its geopolitical position, but also because of the new economic policy that is evident in the official data showing improvement of financial indicators and the economic environment.
Mr. Katrougalos was also the keynote speaker at a London School of Economics event on “Social or neoliberal Europe? The Greek experience,” at which he presented the Greek government’s major structural reforms, with emphasis on reform of the social security system. He also underscored the need to abandon the current austerity policies and reaffirm the EU’s dedication to the European social model.
During his stay in the British capital, Mr. Katrougalos visited Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, while on the margins of his meetings he gave interviews to The Daily Telegraph and the BBC World Service.
Mr. Katrougalos concluded his itinerary on Tuesday, in Oxford, where he spoke in the afternoon, at St Antony’s College, on “A Democratic Challenge: Social reform in Greece under Syriza.”
November 16, 2016