Our vision is for Greece to become a leading and competitive country in our region

Address by the Chairman of SEV, Theodoros Fessas at the 2018 SEV Annual General Assembly Tuesday (29 May 2018, Athens Concert Hall) 

Dear President of the Republic,

Mr. Prime Minister,

Ladies & Gentlemen

You have our warmest thanks for being here with us this evening.

A special thanks to dear Mr. Gabriel, a supporter and friend of Greece, for honouring us with his presence today.

Our vision is for Greece to become a leading and competitive country in our region. A country which every world citizen will want to visit; to work in, invest in, and live.

This is an ambitious vision, worthy of our homeland, which tests the limits of our potential and our expectations.

Great businessmen have honoured it with their life’s work, such as Theodoros Vassilakis, to whom, sadly, we recently paid our last respects.

Theodoros Vassilakis is a role model for us all. He proved that where the state fails in its role as a businessman, the private sector works miracles.

In three months, our country shall exit the Memorandum.

Mr. Prime Minister, this is undoubtedly a very positive development. Congratulations!

As this marks the beginning of a new era, it is worth discussing, this evening, how our vision can become a reality.

Over the last eight years, while we were trying to solve problems from the previous century, the world made economic and technological leaps.

In 2017, the global economy grew by 3.8%, the Euro Area by 2.3%, whilst Greece by 1.4%.

Investment in the Euro Area was approximately 20.5% of GDP. In Greece it was limited to 12.6%, whilst the champion of the Euro Area, the Czech Republic, surpassed 25%.

As for us, we have struggled with our worst self all these years.

We did not agree with the underlying causes of the crisis, nor with the tools to get out of it.

Our country’s leaders, as well as those of our lenders, made critical mistakes in the policy formula, in the timing of the reforms, and in their implementation.

In August, we shall be provided with the opportunity to stop the continuous recycling of our introversion, as well as to reintroduce ourselves to the international community.

To expand our minds and our perspective, to deal with other important issues such as:

• major global political and economic changes,
• digitisation,
• the 4th Industrial Revolution,
• the skill set of workers in the era of artificial intelligence,
• climate change,
• the cyclical economy,
• the new European Budget 2020.

Read more in the attached pdf file below.