The Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos, attended today the 4th OT FORUM “A New Production Model – Greece 2030”. He participated in a discussion with the president of EENE, Christian Hatziminas, on the topic: “The necessary reforms, the regulatory framework and incentives for investments”.

“The new productive model of Greece is the most important national issue of the decade. We went through a difficult crisis of more than ten years, but in the last five years we achieved economic stabilization and restored the credibility of our country. We have cut unemployment in half and our economy is on the right track,” said the Minister of Development in his introduction.

Mr. Theodorikakos continued that “it is important that our development is sustainable and strong. Despite the excellent work, however, there is one quantity which for a quarter of a century remains persistent and strong, the trade deficit. We have to defeat it, because that means tax reductions, so more income for citizens and the prospect of a better standard of living.”

“We need to strengthen the industry, increase our exports and make our products more competitive and powerful. So we need to acquire innovative products and our economy to become more extroverted”, said the Minister of Development and emphasized the crucial role of industry.

“Tourism is a very important pillar of the Greek economy and we want it to continue to be so in the future. But, it cannot be a monoculture. That is why it is critical to strengthen our industry, which is doing well, but can and must do even better.”

Mr. Theodorikakos also referred to the immediate goals of the Ministry of Development. He spoke about the special status of the development law only for the border regions, because as he said “the greatest security for our homeland is our industries, so that we can keep the Greek children in their place”. For the special regime concerning large investments over 10 million euros and there will be aid with tax exemptions, for the announcement of a processing regime of 150 million. euros, to maintain the institution of flagship investments, to facilitate the financing of large investments through the creation of a Guarantee Fund, while there will be a separate regime for the shipbuilding industry. “These are targeted actions that will strengthen our industry in the next two years,” as the Minister of Development said.

Mr. Theodorikakos also emphasized that he is in favor of tax relief for the benefit of society and healthy entrepreneurship and will do whatever is necessary in his area of ​​responsibility. “The fact that our economy is moving forward despite the difficult geopolitical environment is also a result of tax reductions that the Government has made in the last five years”, as he said.

In closing, he said that in order to reduce the cost of living, the new production model must be implemented, while in the next period there will be a further reduction of bureaucracy and simplification of procedures by at least 25%, in order to facilitate the activities of businesses.