PM Mitsotakis Says Greek Exports "Resilient" at Wednesday's Panhellenic Exporters Conference

Greek Prime Minster Kyriakos Mitsotakis was upbeat in his remarks to the Panhellenic Exporters Association on Wednesday, saying that the positive Greek export numbers for 2020 amounted to a “small feat.”
Addressing the businesspeople and financial figures who are taking part in today’s virtual conference, Mitsotakis stated that one of the points in his economic plan is to further Greek exports even more, saying a “Greece that produces, (is) a Greece that exports.”
He maintained to the business leaders that foreign trade will once again play a pivotal role in the continuing recovery of the Greek economy. He stated “our exports are proving resilient: In the first nine months of 2020, they reached 17.5 billion, exceeding by 253 million the corresponding performance of 2019.”
In a surprising turn, the Prime Minister pointed out that Greece’s exports filled the gap after the losses in the petroleum sector were corrected by large increases in the export offends, medicines, chemicals and metals.
Due to the lessened demand for consumer goods because of the coronavirus, there was a greatly decreased amount of imports during that same time frame, amounting to 6 billion euros.
Mitsotakis went on to say that the success in Greek exports this year was the result of both the business acumen of Greek entrepreneurs and the support given by the Greek government. All export trade services are now under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry.
PM Mitsotakis said that the export sector is now supported in other ways, including a de-escalization of taxation and an accompanying lessening of bureaucratic red tape. Additionally, the body known as Enterprise Greece has been restructured.
National Strategic Extroversion Plan
Greece also has a new plan, called the National Strategic Extroversion Plan, stipulating 85 areas which need to be acted on for the continued success in that arena. All these efforts, he stated, are being undertaken with one single end in mind, namely, “To keep Greek society upright and the national economy battle-ready for the day after Covid-19.”
The Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Panhellenic Exporters Association of Greece, organized the virtual forum where policymakers and entrepreneurs will discuss how exports can help the recovery of the Greek economy.
Entitled “Exports turn Crisis into Opportunity”, the Forum’s final day is today.
The event was blessed by his Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and will be addressed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Ministers of the Greek government, top bankers and entrepreneurs, heads of organizations from Greece and the US, and members of commerce, industry, and export.
“Together (with the Panhellenic Exporters Association of Greece) we say “OHI” to a misunderstood disease, to a lack of belief in Greek resiliency, to those who are mistaken as to what Greece and its people are able to produce, accomplish and overcome,” said Markos L. Drakotos, President of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, in  his opening remarks to the conference attendees.