Greek PM sends inviting message to investors in New York

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, sent a message via webcast at the 20th Annual Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum in New York City on Monday attended by a Greek government delegation headed by Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos.

In his message Tsipras said that Greece was becoming an export-oriented, investment-friendly country focusing on innovation.

"Today Greece is transitioning into an export-oriented, investment-attractive country that focuses on innovation and high value-added production," Tsipras said, adding that "you can now initiate a new company in less than an hour and new law frameworks facilitate strategic investments in a fast-track manner."

In his message the Greek PM went on to say that Greece left the last of its adjustment programs behind four months ago and with it a prolonged period of crisis, uncertainty and low expectations. "Greece has now regained its autonomy and - above all - the confidence in a future of prosperity, creativity and growth."

In his message, Tsipras also referred to Greece's improved statistics that point to a new start on a healthy basis, with a reform effort "facilitated by instrumental actions to foster growth such as the Growth Strategy plan, which sets and promotes in a coherent way the development targets, and the new development law, which provides funds and the right incentives to businesses and innovators." He said that Greece also had access to "a wide set of financial tools and schemes to enhance liquidity via the Greek Development Bank, the partnerships with the EIB and EBRD and the best utilisation of the available European funds and investment projects."

All of the above allow Greece to take advantage of its geostrategic position at the crossroads of three continents in the Mediterranean Sea, Tsipras said, and made special reference to the Prespes Agreement Greece signed with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which resolved a long-standing dispute, showing to the world that "Greece is a power that promotes consensus and stability, always seeking for new ways of cooperation and mutual growth."

Greece, he said in conclusion, "is again a promising and - above all - a safe investment destination, and I urge you to trust its potential."