My dear colleagues - and I am referring to all the Secretaries General and Presidents. We are a team working together in this effort at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
I would like to welcome you to today's event here at our Ministry.
I believe than an event which actually has to do with boosting exports is probably the first time that it is so clearly included in the tasks and mission and activities of this Ministry.
And I think that this in itself is something extremely significant; because the importance of our country's exports and the need to boost them is more than obvious.
I recall that in the years of the crisis, in the difficult decade of 2010, at the time when I served as Minister of Development, I had stated that regardless of the debt arrangement, it would have obviously made no difference unless Greece was able to increase its exports. We would be back at the crisis point again after a few years.
Therefore, it is particularly important for my colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for me that we have been given the mandate by the Prime Minister to work, inter alia, on the promotion of Greek exports.
And I have to tell you that this is psychologically simple for us, because we have faith in Greek products, in their worth and quality. We have faith in the human capital, in Greek industrialists, in Greek manufacturers, in Greek entrepreneurs. We believe in their resourcefulness, their competence, and their professionalism.
Today, we are coming to close a marked gap that was causing difficulties in our country's export activity.
The creation of the “Export Credit Greece S.A.” is a key reform. One of the many that this government is implementing, I have to say perhaps more discreetly than it should.
And there are many innovations contained in this new chapter for our country's exports. Mr. Stamatopoulos will present them in-depth later on.
But I would like to focus on two points, which I consider to be the most important:
The first is that this Organization was created with an eye on European and global best practices.
With the assistance of the Italian SACE organization, we were able to apply the best practices from both European and global experience.
Because, ladies and gentlemen, one thing we have to learn in Greece is that there is no need to constantly reinvent the wheel.
Also, a second point I would like to underscore is something that is usually difficult for us Greeks to achieve, but in this case I think we were successful: the equal and sincere cooperation of a number of stakeholders who would have, and should have a say, and they rightly did have a say. The stakeholders in the country's export ecosystem: SEVE [Greek Exporters Association], PEA [Panhellenic Exporters Association], EAC [Exporters’ Association of Crete], financial institutions, private insurers, institutional actors, all worked together in a partnership that resulted in the outcome that is presented to you today.
And, of course, the cordiality and sincerity of this cooperation is demonstrated by the ecosystem's acceptance of this reform.
I therefore express the hope that today we are turning a new page. We are now in a position to support Greek exporters in a much better, more proper and more effective way.
Since we are at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I would like to make a more general comment on the role of exports. And, in fact, to make an observation that is important in these times of great instability, which we had hoped we would never experience again in our continent and in the world.
Apart from the obvious effect on our country's standard of living, trade partnerships, the bridges built through exports, offer an additional significant added value. They bring closer states and societies, foster understandings, consolidate and deepen the alliances and understandings already established by the Ministry and the Government. And they also bring societies closer together, removing friction and misunderstandings.
So, whichever way one looks at it, at whatever level one analyses it, today's significant reform is a very crucial step forward for our Ministry, for us who are adopting it, for the Government, for Greek society, for the country, and I would like to express the deepest gratitude of my colleagues and myself for your presence here today.
Because we are all taking this crucial step together.
Thank you so much.
July 5, 2022