Greece "conveyed an image of unity and confidence," says PM Mitsotakis

President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou received Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday at the Presidential Mansion.

"Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, I believe that the country conveyed an image of unity and confidence," during the celebrations for the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, Mitsotakis said

He added: "I think it was an opportunity to reflect on all that we have achieved over 200 years, to learn from our mistakes and to draft with confidence a path to the future. And this remark is connected with a very important announcement made by the government today, where for the first time we presented publicly and in detail the main axes of the National Recovery Plan, which is a result of the significant additional European funding provided by the country to deal with the coronavirus crisis."

Mitsotakis also referred to the coronavirus situation in the country. "We are being tested by the third wave, but the national health system is holding up and I would like to take this opportunity to thank doctors, health workers, nurses for the superhuman effort they continue to make, especially here in the hospitals of Attica."

"And, of course, I must tell you that we have gathered all the forces of the national health system, the military hospitals, the private sector under the leadership of the health ministry, so that we can cope with this crisis in an organised and coordinated way."

The prime minister added that "if there is any encouraging news, it is the fact that in the last few days we have seen some stabilisation of admissions and discharges at hospitals in Attica".

On her part, Sakellaropoulou said that Greece celebrated the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Revolution despite the circumstances. "With responsibility towards our history, with deep emotion for the struggles of our ancestors, with the participation of our allies who contributed to our independence and with respect for the restrictions imposed by the pandemic."

She also underlined that, unfortunately, Greece must also continue to live in the restrictive environment imposed by the pandemic on the entire planet.

"I fully understand the fatigue and anguish of the citizens. I see that both the experts and the government are looking for ways out of this suffocating environment. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions and recipes. Despite the small breaths of freedom that can be given, it is obvious that the path to normalcy will not be simple or easy. But it is necessary to win the bet of reorganising the economy and opening up to tourism."

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Greek authorities announced the reopening of the retail sector as of next week, and allowing travel between municipalities on weekends to respond to the public’s difficulty in coping with months-long restrictions.

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