ATHENS – With cautious optimism the Coronavirus has finally regun to recede, Greece is looking to investors to drive a faster economic recovery that had  begun after years of austerity before the pandemic hit in 2020.

European Investment Bank (EIB) Director-Generl Luca Lazzaroli said that investment will be the force and that the bank will help Greece in its comeback, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis already reaching out to more foreign businesses, including tech giants.

He was speaking during an online seminar Investment in Greece Post-COVID-19, organized by the Bank of Greece and the EIB, said the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

The reported said that the Bank of Greece expects a big uptick in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that had been held down by lockdowns during the first two years of the pandemic that has now just begun a third year.

FDI in 2021, with the economy crawling back, hit 5 billion euros ($5.45 billion) after bottoming at 2.9 billion euros ($2.19 billion) the year before when business was shut down and international air traffic limited.

Andreas Yannopoulos, founder of the InvestGR Forum for promoting investment in Greece, told Xinhua that 2021 “represents a benchmark … which clearly reflects an improved business climate in Greece,” is improving.

He added that, “It is also encouraging that new sectors, especially renewable energy sources, pharmaceuticals and tech are drawing increased investment. This points to greater diversification in the Greek economy, which is necessary for sustainable growth over the long term.”