Dear President of the Association of Industries of Central Greece, dear Panos,
Dear members of the business community,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening and Happy New Year!
Thank you very much for the invitation to attend your Association's New Year's cake-cutting event. It is a pleasure and an honor for me to be with local government representatives, pioneering entrepreneurs, and export champions of the country, as you specifically mentioned in your invitation, Panos.
I am particularly glad that the event is taking place in Livadia, "the Manchester of the East," as the French traveler Segur Dupeyron described it when he visited the area in 1838.
Before I move on to the topic of entrepreneurship, I would like to mention the city’s notable industrial past. During the period of Ottoman rule, Livadia was a trade center. The cultivation of cotton almost monopolized the region’s commercial activity. With the establishment of the Greek state, the cultivations increased. In 1862 the city produced 1,400 out of the 1,500 tons of the country's domestic ginned cotton production!
This development was due to daring entrepreneurs who created ginneries, thread factories, presses, and yarn mills; the natural environment, specifically the waters of the Erkyna river, which were the driving force of the ginneries; the land improvement works, namely the drainage of the Kopaida, which added new lands; and the operation of a National Bank branch since 1864, which facilitated the export of cotton abroad. Thus, thanks to private initiative, state support, and the utilization of renewable energy sources, Livadia was the first industrial center of cotton production in 19th-century Greece and in many ways is an example of an industrial center for 21st-century Greece.
Given these facts, I consider this to be the most appropriate place to discuss the industry’s development prospects.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Globally, data and conditions in the industrial sector are converging towards a paradigm shift. In the last five years, the economy’s pendulum has been swinging rapidly, driven by the need to respond to social challenges, such as the Covid-19 crisis, climate change, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and conflicts in the Middle East. At the same time, investor priorities are evolving, community interests and politics are changing, and global competition is intensifying. A new era of industrial policy has dawned, marked by more substantial state intervention and support, the promotion of cooperation with geopolitical allies, and the search for specialized and innovative markets aimed at transforming the economy into a more sustainable, digital, resilient, and competitive one.
Hence, the question arises: Is Greece ready to enter this new industrial era?
In recent years, despite difficulties and challenges, Greece has successfully transformed itself into an attractive investment destination and a reliable business partner. The re-election of the K. Mitsotakis government last June, secured by an overwhelming majority in Parliament and a high percentage, guarantees political stability and continuity in the country's transition to a green economy with a social face, export-oriented, investor and environment friendly.
To speak in numbers, in 2022, Greek exports exceeded 100 billion €, while Foreign Direct Investments reached 7.22 billion €. Consequently, unemployment has significantly decreased from 17.9% in July 2019 to 9.6% in October 2023, breaking the 10% barrier after 14 years.
It is no coincidence that the Economist highlighted Greece as the "economic champion of 2022" among 34 developed economies, the OECD described the Greek economy as the "positive surprise of Europe," while the growth rate in 2023 is the third highest in the Eurozone.
Additionally, the country's responsible economic policy has been assessed by three out of the four ECB-recognized rating agencies. As you are aware, after 13 years, DBRS Morningstar, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch granted Greece investment-grade rating in 2023. Moody's, meanwhile, provided a vote of confidence in the Greek economy by upgrading its credit rating by two notches. The upgrade essentially rewards the country's macroeconomic and fiscal progress over the last few years and the government's commitment to reforms and further debt reduction.
The National Strategy for Industry is also part of the Greek economy’s development framework, and it envisions an industry that transforms the country's production model, invests in innovation, partnerships, and the skills of the human workforce, attracts investments, and actively participates in international value chains with competitive products, creating sustainable and inclusive results for Greek society.
To realize this vision, seven strategic directions have been identified: increased competitiveness, innovation, digital and green transformation, human resources and skills, business environment, and industrial resilience.
My portfolio contributes decisively and effectively to achieving these goals. Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion are systematically working to promote national interests and business activities of Greece abroad. In cooperation with the line ministries, we aim to strengthen the Greek business community. We support small and medium-sized enterprises, mainly through the reformed Hellenic Export Credit Company (a reform I am very proud of). At the same time we seek to increase Foreign Direct Investments regardless of size, especially in cutting-edge sectors such as digital transition, renewable energy sources, and the green economy. Finally, we are modernizing the structures of the public administration to facilitate investors and simplifying procedures to promote extroversion.
Therefore, I would like to make a brief reference to the above issues.
Our country is emerging as a regional hub in cutting-edge sectors such as High Technology and Biotechnology, attracting the interest of European and American funds. Technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have submitted investment plans aiming to establish regional digital centers. This means that Greece will be one of the few countries outside of North America to host all three technological titans. Moreover, CISCO and Pfizer have chosen Thessaloniki as the base for their International Digital Transition Centers.
The Greek innovation ecosystem (start-ups) has also made notable progress. A remarkable development in the field of startups is the acquisition of Viva Wallet by JP Morgan and Accusonus by Meta Platforms.
In the energy sector, Greece is gradually acquiring a pivotal role as it turns into an energy gateway to Southeastern Europe. Significant energy corridors are being planned and constructed on land and sea. With north-south, east-west interconnections, and diversification of sources, routes, and supplies, Europe is decoupling from Russian energy resources.
Beyond the unprecedented investment activity in interconnectors, Greece aims at the production, consumption, and export of green electrical energy. In May 2023, our country achieved a historically high rate of 54% of electricity production from renewable energy sources (RES). It is expected to reach the national goal of 80% of electricity from RES by 2027. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the Photovoltaic Park of Kozani, the largest in Southeastern Europe, an investment that provides energy to 75,000 households.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Greece is gradually establishing itself as an energy and digital hub in Southeastern Europe, while simultaneously developing in traditional sectors such as agriculture, trade, and tourism. To facilitate their success swiftly and smoothly, investment efforts are supported by a multitude of tools, such as:
- The National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0," for investments in green and digital transition, employment, skills, social cohesion.
- The National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2021-2027, with programs for strengthening infrastructure, developing human capital, innovation.
- New laws, such as the development law 4887/2022, with incentives for small investors, and law 4982/2022, with a unified and flexible framework for industrial parks.
- The digital transformation of Public Administration in general and the Economic Diplomacy Network in particular, aimed at modernizing the services provided and simplifying the procedures for issuing documents.
Furthermore, informative events, such as the Market Access Day organized by the European Commission, are of significant importance, as they bring businesses and exporters in contact with the right tools and networks. Let us not forget that the EU's trade agreements protect all the productive sectors of the Greek economy against unfair trade practices and ensure favorable trade rules and effective removal of administrative and tariff barriers.
In the same spirit of mutual information and promotion, both participations in exhibitions around the world (327 in 2023), and business missions (96 within 2023), are included. This year is off to a great start; as you may be aware, we are already organizing two missions to Türkiye and India for February.
Our immediate agenda also includes the creation of a networking platform for Greek and foreign suppliers and buyers, which will allow buyers to see the seasonal availability of each product and to choose producers or suppliers.
Another issue to be addressed is facilitating potential investors in finding personnel as well as finding resources for training this staff, a task undertaken by our supervised entity, Enterprise Greece.
Dear friends,
As I conclude my speech, I express a wish: may the works for the rehabilitation of the Oinofyta Business Park proceed at a rapid pace to enhance entrepreneurship, improve competitiveness, and increase employment opportunities in Central Greece. And I extend an invitation to all of you, as entrepreneurs and investors, to actively participate in the country's recovery and transformation journey towards a better tomorrow, because, as argued by Aristotle, who spent the last years of his life in your region, participating constitutes the political essence of man.
The future is ahead of us; we can conquer it together!
May the year 2024 be creative and productive!
January 15, 2024