ATHENS – Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis began his briefing of the press on Monday by announcing that the debate in parliament on the government’s programme and the vote of confidence in the government was concluded on Saturday.

He said that the prime minister had outlined the government’s priorities in the current four-year term, noting that “the elections proved that Greece has entered the period of major changes. We are determined to proceed with unity, determination and boldness with the promotion of the entire set of reforms that the people need”.

Marinakis said that “nobody can or should be lagging behind in Greece in 2023,” underlining that the government’s policies aim to lead to a strong country with a developed economy and better wages, more jobs that will support those who are weakest in difficult times and will directly or indirectly increase the disposable income of the citizens, while guaranteeing a better future for younger generations.

Concluding he referred to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis schedule, announcing that the premier will depart for Riga, Latvia on Monday, where he will meet with the Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. The two leaders will discuss economic cooperation between their two countries in the context of their common participation in the EU and NATO, as well as the European policy on migration.

This will be the first visit by a Greek prime minister to Latvia in twenty years. Later, the prime minister will meet with the Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, Edvards Smiltēns.

The visit to Latvia was initially scheduled for 2022 but was postponed as that country entered a pre-elections period.

On Tuesday, Mitsotakis will be in Vilnius, Lithuania, to take part in the NATO Summit, which will discuss all current security issues in Europe linked to NATO.

On the sidelines of the summit, Mitsotakis will have a series of bilateral meetings on which there will be further information later in the day.