Greek government outlines 5-year investment, economic goals

Greece is aiming to grow investment spending by more than a third by 2031 as part of the government’s five-year agenda to increase productivity, create jobs and further strengthen public finances.

Speaking at the opening of the annual Thessaloniki International Fair in early September, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis laid out seven broad economic goals – and 10 major reforms – for the years ahead. Among them is for investment spending to reach €65 billion five years from now – up from the current €46 billion – narrowing Greece’s chronic investment gap with the rest of Europe.

Those investments, Mr. Mitsotakis said, will underpin the further economic and public sector transformation that Greece will need to undertake through the end of the decade.

“The target is for investments – that stand at €46 billion today – to reach €65 billion, far surpassing 20% of GDP. We must cover the gap that still separates us from Europe,” said Mr. Mitsotakis.

“Investments must set a new record. It is the investments that fuel growth, they are the ones that bring wealth to the public coffers, to employment, to society,” he added. “I am talking about private investment, I am talking about public investment, I am talking about investments financed by private resources, by national resources, by European resources.”

In his remarks, Mr. Mitsotakis outlined a bold vision for Greece’s further development. Through continued economic transformation, matched with sweeping reforms, the country would ensure economic growth, jobs, rising wages and improved public finances.

For example, over the next five years, Greece is aiming for GDP growth of more than 2% per year or double the European average. By 2029, the government aims to reduce Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 120%, and below 110% the year after. Another goal: to raise Greece’s sovereign credit rating a full grade to A from BBB now.

Citing the success of Greece’s renewable energy sector, which has helped turn the country into an electricity exporter, Mr. Mitsotakis also vowed to support hi-tech manufacturing and a sweeping modernization of the agri-food sector – two of Greece’s key export sectors. At the same time, the government will push ahead with broader public reforms, including changes to the constitution, the judiciary and education, among others.