Ο Έλληνας υπουργός Εξωτερικών Δημήτρης Αβραμόπουλος περιγράφει στον ομόλογο του John Baird, τα σχέδια ανάκαμψης κατά τη διάρκεια της επίσκεψης του στην Οττάβα-Καναδά: “Δέκα χρόνια από τώρα, η οικονομική κρίση στην Ελλάδα, θα είναι μια κακή ανάμνηση “
By Jennifer Campbell is the editor of Diplomat & International Canada magazine
Ten years from now, Greece’s economic crisis will be but a bad memory, “but it will be a memory that keeps us from repeating the mistakes of the past and helps us build a more secure and prosperous future.”
That’s the way Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, who was in Canada last week meeting with his counterpart John Baird, sees it, anyway. The minister agreed to a wide-ranging email interview in light of his visit in Ottawa.
Avramopoulos predicted that Greece will, within five years, have a “completely revamped state structure and will have laid strong foundations for sustainable growth based on competitiveness and fiscal responsibility.”
Austerity programs have not been popular with the Greek people but the minister said they are a “necessary and very painful initial step.” And, he said, austerity, to be successful, must be backed by investment that will lead to sustainable growth.
“That is why the decisions taken at the recent European Council on the EU budget for 2014-2020 were so important,” he said. “The new EU budget earmarks specific funding to fight youth unemployment throughout the union agreement, and Greece alone will receive at least 16.3 billion euros in investment funds.”
At the same time, he said, his government is busy promoting foreign investments. He noted that the Greek economy has “improved radically over the past few months” and said his country is doing well in its quest to reduce the deficit. He noted that they hope to reach a surplus “soon”.
“These successes are helping us lay the foundation for an internationally competitive economy that, in combination with our comparative advantages — our natural resources, our highly trained human resources, our geographical position — will put us on the path to sustainable growth.”
When it comes to corruption, which the Brookings Institution recently estimated cost Greece 20 billion euros or 10 per cent of GDP, he outlined his country’s plan after noting that corruption exists across the EU and costs the union as much as 120 billion euros a year or one per cent of GDP.
“Together with the European Commission Task Force, we have developed an anti-corruption action plan based on the joint efforts of the ministries of administrative reform, finance, justice and public order,” Avramopoulos said. “The plan focuses on the development and implementation of a national strategy for preventing, detecting and prosecuting corruption.”
He called the eradication of corruption a “top priority” for two reasons — first, financial losses and, second, because the “cohesion of Greek society depends on our defeating this scourge.”
Asked about Greece’s bureaucracy, which is often criticized as inefficient, he said “unwieldy bureaucracy, wherever it occurs, discourages investment, innovation and growth.
“To achieve recovery, we need to streamline bureaucracy,” he said. “That’s why this government is pushing through legislation that speeds up licensing procedures for strategic investments, facilitates Greek companies’ export activities, strengthens competition in the retail sector and rationalizes public procurement procedures.”
The minister described Greece’s relationship with Canada as an important one and noted that there are 350,000 Canadians of Greek ancestry, making Canada’s one of the largest Greek diasporas. He said the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU will further strengthen ties and he noted that a youth-mobility agreement that went into effect in February will give young Canadians and Greeks a chance to live and work in each others’ countries.
Avramopoulos invited Canadians to travel to Greece on vacation and also encouraged Canadian companies to invest in Greece. “We very much want Canada to be a significant player in the new Greek economy we are building.”
Asked if his government, which has been selling off some diplomatic properties in Europe, planned to sell either of its buildings in Ottawa — the embassy on MacLaren Street and the residence on Queen Elizabeth Driveway — he said it didn’t.
“This doesn’t mean we will be selling properties we are using,” he said of the Ottawa buildings. “But it does mean that we will capitalize on assets that aren’t being used (such as those in London), and we are in the process of doing this right now.”
DIPLOMATIC ASSOCIATION HOLDS AGM
The Ottawa Diplomatic Association held its annual general meeting Feb. 28 at the embassy of Indonesia and elected a new executive committee. The new executive consists of: Zambian High Commissioner Bobby Samakai, president; Haitian Ambassador Frantz Liautaud, first vice-president; associate member Habiba Chakir, second vice-president; associate member James Leveque, secretary general; Trinidad and Tobago second secretary Cindy Shavani, deputy treasurer; Australian deputy high commissioner Bruce Soar, treasurer; Tanzanian High Commissioner Alex Massinda, deputy treasurer. Members-at-large who round out the executive committee include Japanese Ambassador Kaoru Ishikawa, Palestinian representative Said Hamad, Macedonian Ambassador Ljuben Tevdovski, Egyptian third secretary Mohammed Mosleh and Hikmat Moeljawan, an economic counsellor at the Indonesian embassy.)
Jennifer Campbell is the editor of Diplomat & International Canada magazine.
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