FinMin Staikouras sends message of "realistic optimism" over the course of Greek economy

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras sent a message of 'realistic optimism' during his series of meetings in Washington in the context of the Annual Meeting of the IMF.

In his meetings with representatives of the international investing community, with his counterparts, the heads of the institutions and senior officials of IMF, Staikouras presented the targets, already being applied in the first three months of the new government, noting the markets and the institutions' positive reaction. He also focused on the main axes on which the roadmap for the country's economic course will be based.

"We will move on these axes in the next period in order to have a successful outcome of the fourth evaluation in the Eurogroup meeting in early December".

Staikouras said that the government's plan foresees targeted interventions in the main pillars of the economy as the financial sector, the structural reforms, the liquidity of the real economy and the management of the public debt. As he said, the aim is not only to support the growth but also to guarantee that this will be carried out in the people's interest.

The minister said that there is an agreement with the institutions on the meeting of the fiscal targets despite the fact that the government's plan foresees tax reductions.

On the sidelines of the IMF meeting, Staikouras met with the new chief of IMF Kristalina Georgieva and with the next president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde. He also met with Under Secretary of State responsible for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Keith Krach.

He also held meeting with investing and banking groups as well as with rating agencies as BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, J.P Morgan, HSBC, Citibank, Nomura Bank, Moody's and DBRS while he spoke at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch event.

Finally, Staikouras participated in the meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. The aim of the coalition is the promotion of collective actions on climate change and its repercussions.

(AMNA - ANA)