Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, participated on Monday evening in a discussion with Neil Rimer, co-founder of the Index Ventures company, as part of an event organized by Endeavor Greece entitled "Greece and the world of 2024."
The prospects of the Greek economy, the potential of Greek start-ups, the advantages offered by the country and innovation support policies, the exploitation of artificial intelligence and the role that Greece can play in the sector dominated the discussion.
Referring to the prospects of the Greek economy and asked about the choice of the "Economist" magazine to rank Greece in the first place in terms of performance for 2023, the prime minister noted: "I believe it is an important confirmation of the important work we have done in terms of transforming the Greek economy and placing it on a sustainable development path, while at the same time ensuring that we manage public finances in a responsible manner.
"I believe that the startup ecosystem and the investments we have made in new technologies contribute significantly to changing the production model of the Greek economy.
"We know that exiting a vicious circle and entering a virtuous circle is a good thing. But there is no room for complacency. We still have a long way to go. There is always a tendency to forget the huge price we had to pay because of the crisis, when we lost 1/4 of our GDP. We know we have to move fast and seize opportunities.
"But I believe we will continue to have growth rates that are significantly higher than the rest of the eurozone. We will continue to reduce our debt as a percentage of GDP. We know that we have to continue a tight fiscal policy because the era of loose fiscal policy is over, so we know that we have to run primary surpluses.
"However, I believe we have proven that one can achieve economic growth, reduce taxes and maintain fiscal discipline at the same time. Many believed that this was not possible."
Hatzidakis: Greece has never before received so many funds for digital transformation
"It is the first time that Greece receives so many funds for the digital transformation of the economy," National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Tuesday at the Digital Economy Forum Shaping Greece's Digital Future conference of the Association of Informatics and Communications, representing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
He pointed out, "this money will not only strengthen the IT businesses and new technologies sector. But, regardless of whether they concern small, medium and large companies, will stay here: for further ecoomic growth, for further job creation, in order to lead Greece higher".
According to the minister, "the country is in the midst of two parallel and interconnected digital transformations: the Digital Transformation of the Government and the Digital Transformation of the Economy," Hatzidakis noted stressing the important role of the European resources, both from the NSRF and from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which in total amount to approximately 3.4 billion euros.
At the same time, in the new NSRF 2021-2027, an increased initial budget has been provided that is already close to 1 billion euros with the aim of supporting businesses, especially SMEs in their digital transformation.
Kasselakis: SYRIZA believes that digital transition should be human-centred
Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis addressing the Digital Economy Forum organised by the
the Federation of Hellenic ICT Enterprises (SEPE) on Monday called it "a very important sector of the economy that is going to play an even more significant role in the Greek economy".
"The policies that are behind the use of technology are those that will determine its impact," he noted adding that "SYRIZA believes that the digital transition may and should be human-centred for the benefit of the society, the sustainable growth, the improvement of the quality of life and of the labour".
He lashed out at the "inefficiency in absorbing funds" and the "lack of fair distribution as there is clear bias in the favour of the major and strong groups" explaining that "all these reveal the real neoliberal face of New Democracy's (ND) government".
Kasselakis presented his party's main axes for a "fair digital transition as pillar of productive reconstruction of the country".
READ MORE: New Poll: New Democracy dominates, SYRIZA falls into 3rd place after formation of New Left.
