“The government's overall development policy, our foreign policy strategy and the financial tools provided by Greece and Europe will primarily benefit small-sized professionals, small and medium-sized enterprises of Greece and, of course, West Athens." This was emphasized by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, today in Peristeri at an expanded meeting with representatives of institutions and chambers of commerce titled "The extroversion of Greek SMEs in the European and International Environment".In particular, Mr.Varvitsiotis underlined that Greece has significantly enhanced its international credibility, as it systematically pursues a foreign policy based on the principles of International Law and has turned into a pillar of stability in South-Eastern Europe and the Balkans. By conducting a policy of upgraded economic diplomacy and making good use of the Ministry's structures, Greece has significantly increased its exports and has also become a pole of attraction for technological giants. "We will not stop working in order to achieve high growth rates. We can develop into an energy and transit hub, as well as a communications and data hub," he pointedly said.Furthermore, the Alternate Minister highlighted the Recovery and Resilience Fund's role in stimulating the Greek economy and entrepreneurship, referring to projects that will be funded by it. He underscored that this is "a European tool sealed by Greece," recalling the exhaustive 100-hour negotiation in July 2020, -where he personally participated- which resulted in a greater per capita benefit for our country than any other.Lastly, Mr. Varvitsiotis made special reference to flagship projects aiming to transform West Athens, which are already underway and will be financed by European funds. These projects include the undergrounding of medium and high voltage cables in Egaleo and Agia Varvara, the reforestation of Poikilon Oros, the extension of Metro Line 2 in West Athens (for the first time since 2013) with the construction of three stations in the area of Ilion, and the extension of the suburban railway from Ano Liosia to Megara. “The goal is for small, family-run businesses to benefit, allowing them to increase their turnover and gain easier access to cheap lending. There are opportunities for everyone," he concluded.On his part, during his address, the Secretary General for International Economic Affairs and Openness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Smyrlis, pointed out that the Government's plan and all the investment resources secured by the country for the next few years in order to strengthen the extroversion of the Greek economy primarily concern Small and Medium Enterprises, as they are the Greek economy's backbone. "We have to provide them with substantial support so that they gain access to the projects of the new period, raise finance, benefit from tax incentives and opportunities for digitisation and innovation, and further enhance their extroversion," Mr. Smyrlis emphasized.The President of the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen I. Chatzitheodosiou the President of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship G. Karanikas, the CEO of Enterprise Greece M. Giannopoulos, the CEO of the Export Credit Insurance Organization G. Stamatopoulos as well as representatives of professional and economic bodies and chambers of West Athens also participated in the event. The Mayor of Chaidari Ev. Diniakos and the Mayor of Egaleo G. Gikas attended the event as well.
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