“In Greece there is now a friendly environment for investments and we invite investors from Japan to come to our country”, emphasized in the interview with the Japanese news agency KYODO, the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis.

The Japanese Rating and Investment Information (R&I) was the first rating agency to give Greece the investment grade, signaling investors to invest in our country, the minister recalled. “We are far on the map, but experience shows that we can cooperate well for the benefit of both peoples,” he added.

Mr. Hatzidakis referred to the policies implemented by the Greek government to create an increasingly friendly environment for investments.

“We proceeded to reduce taxation and insurance contributions, as far as possible, and took initiatives to reduce bureaucracy,” he noted. He also mentioned the shipping, logistics and tourism sectors, in which Greece has a comparative advantage for investments.

“We have results that are more than satisfactory in terms of investments”, noted the minister and recalled the presence of large American investments in the country after decades, such as those of Microsoft, Pfizer, Amazon, Google and Cisco. “Therefore, we also invite Japanese companies to come to Greece”, said Mr. Hatzidakis.

In addition, the Minister of National Economy and Finance, in his interview with the Japanese agency KYODO, referred to the political stability enjoyed by the country, to the important progress made by the Greek economy and underlined that the government insists on the direction of fiscal seriousness.

“Our policy is harmonized with the policies of the European Union but also with the “lesson” we learned in the last decade and the multi-year economic crisis”, he said characteristically.