US Ambassador Expects Significant American Investment in Greece

“The stage is set for a fantastically productive 2020, and many exciting opportunities lie ahead,” U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said late on Thursday addressing the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.
The U.S. Ambassador expressed confidence that there will be significant American investment in Greece during the year.
Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis underlined the new momentum in U.S. investments in Greece during his address on behalf of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The Greek minister focused on meetings the prime minister had with big U.S. companies in Washington, the result of which was that one of the largest renewable energy companies will open an office in Athens in two weeks and plans to invest half a billion dollars in Greece by 2020.
Georgiadis also referred to the vote by U.S. Congress in late 2019 for Greece’s inclusion in the countries funded by the DFC. “This means that U.S. companies that want to invest in Greece can secure “equity” and guarantees in order to have lower interest rates on the financing of their investments in our country,” he said.
The minister highlighted the support of the US government to the LNG Operational Programme in Alexandroupolis. Regarding ONEX’s interest in Elefsis shipyards he noted that “with the ambassador’s contribution, we will also start works in Elefsis shipyards in the coming weeks.”
Georgiadis stressed the personal contribution of the U.S. Ambassador to the successful completion of all major U.S. investments in Greece.
On his part, Pyatt said he was optimistic that 2020 would bring significant U.S. investment to Greece and referred to the privatisation of key ports, starting with Alexandroupolis and Volos, as well as other energy and tourism infrastructure projects, such as the former Ellinikon Airport.
The U.S. Ambassador announced that he would attend an event at the Hellenic American Chamber in Thessaloniki in the coming days, where he said he would discuss opportunities and the role of northern Greece as an energy hub and gateway to the Balkans.
Pyatt said the United States is committed to leveraging the positive investment announcements by Pfizer, Cisco, and Deloitte and to further expansion of the United States, corporate presence in northern Greece.
He also said he felt proud when in Washington, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo” recognized the Greek government’s accelerated, forward-looking reform agenda”.
Source: Athens – Macedonian News Agency