Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou told the opening session of the two-day 11th International Venture Capital and Private Equity Forum that the Greek government will continue its fiscal adjustment programme, reducing the mistakes and missed targets that are inevitable in such an effort.
The finance minister also spoke of the "doom-sayers" that do not correctly interpret and do not give solutions to the problems, warning that all other paths proposed lead only to bankruptcy and impasses.
Greece, he said, is at a turning point in which recovery has begun, exports were posting a significant increase and a recovery was also observed in business confidence.
The Greek society is not disposed to listening to easy solutions, he added.
Papakonstantinou described the entire effort as a "marathon", adding that the structures of the state and business community and mentality need to be changed. "We all need to change," he stressed.
The minister underlined the "painful effort and sacrifices" being made even by people "who are not to blame" for the economy's ills.
He also said that the government's new initiatives in the framework of the economic adjustment programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
The forum brings together representatives from the international business and financial industries. Businesspeople, researchers, policy makers and Venture Capital and Private Equity firms are attending the event and will present their business ideas and discuss equity financing opportunities in one-on-one private meetings.
source: ANA-MPA
