I had the opportunity to discuss with Christine the short- and medium-term outlook of the Greek economy; the significant progress made so far towards the successful completion of the program; and the steps we are now taking towards building a credible and sustainable market access. After several years of economic stagnation, Greece is turning page
Acute risks and uncertainty have subsided. Economic recovery is gaining traction; indeed the 2017 expected growth rate of approximately close to 2 percent has not been seen since 2007 and this is very significant for us.
Primary surplus targets have been exceeded for three years in a row and public finances are on a sustainable path again. There is no doubt that the immense efforts of the Greek people are bearing fruit and there is now a visible, credible and sustainable exit from the crisis.
We have agreed with Christine that it is in the best interest of all sides to complete the forthcoming third review as quickly as possible.
Everybody knows that in the past we had delays. Everybody knows that we had delays because of disagreements between the institutions but now I believe that we have overcome these disagreements and everybody wants the completion of the second review.
The completion of the review will allow the Greek economy to maintain its positive momentum and will offer a period of ‘clean air’ during which all parties can focus on the discussions about the parameters of debt relief and set the conditions for a successful and sustainable market access.
In these discussions on the debt issue we hope that the IMF will play a critical, determining role and we are looking forward to working together.
