US Department of State Releases Investment Climate Report for Greece

On Wednesday, the United States Department of State released Investment Climate Statements, including a report on Greece.

The Investment Climate reports offer valuable insights to US enterprises, enabling them to make well-informed business choices. The reports provide current and comprehensive data on the investment climates of over 165 countries and economies, all of which present existing or potential markets for US companies.

According to the Department of State, the overall outlook for the Greek economy is positive. “Greece is increasingly a source of solutions – not just in the fields of energy diplomacy and defense, but in high-tech innovation, healthcare, and green energy, improving prospects for solid economic growth and stability here and in the wider region,” reads a section from the executive of the report.

Greece’s Investment Climate on a Positive Trajectory According to the US Department of State

The report opens by noting that Greece has “rebounded” from the 2009-2018 financial crisis. Economic growth made a modest return in 2019 and unemployment dropped from its crisis peak of 35 percent in 2013 to 12 percent in 2022. This trend toward a reduction in unemployment has also been noted in more recent reports issued this year.

According to the Department of State’s Investment Climate report, “The Government of Greece (GoG) has implemented reforms and attracted investment by cutting red tape, boosting innovation and entrepreneurship, digitizing government services, and enabling more rapid growth in the renewable energy sector.”

It is further noted that “Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio decreased by more than 20 percent in 2022 – reflecting robust growth, fiscal adjustment, and higher inflation – and it benefits from relatively low debt servicing rates that should allow Greece to easily service its debt for the foreseeable future.”

The report highlights the Mitsotakis government’s “aggressive investment and economic reform agenda,” but also cautions that “Investors cite difficulties with Greece’s bureaucracy and lack of timely resolution in cases in litigation as impediments to investment.”

Bilateral relations

The report also highlights the importance of bilateral relations between Washington and Athens and the potential for greater economic cooperation in addition to an already strong defense partnership.

“Over the past several years, the bilateral relationship between the US and Greece has deepened significantly via defense and strategic partnerships, and Greece ambitiously seeks to bring economic ties to similar, historic heights,” says the Department of State.

“Greece’s return to economic growth has generated new investor interest in the country,” the report further notes. “From 2011-2022, the US was the 8th largest source of foreign direct investment in Greece. Investments by Applied Materials, AWS, Cisco, Deloitte, Digital Realty, Google, J.P. Morgan, Meta, Microsoft, and Pfizer are projected to have an economic impact worth billions of dollars over the next few years.”