ATHENS — Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday expressed his optimism over the Greek economy's prospects of recovery in 2021 and 2022, as well as its medium-term prospects, to the visiting head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Klaus Regling.

"We never stopped implementing reforms, even during the pandemic, to guarantee a sustainable recovery without exclusions in the post-pandemic period," Mitsotakis said, underlining that developments on the pandemic front are moving in the right direction.

He briefed Regling on the acceleration of Greece's vaccination programme, adding that there is a decline in the number of cases and that "we are ready to open the tourism this weekend. As you know, tourism is very important".

Mitsotakis underlined that the government continued structural reforms during the pandemic which, as he said, make Greece a more attractive investment destination.

"In agreement with the institutions, we reduced taxation in a sustainable way and with a long-term horizon, we promoted the digital transformation of the Greek state, while at the same time there were interventions in the banking sector, which I am aware is an issue of great importance to you. We are optimistic about the future and we are looking forward to our constructive cooperation," the Greek prime minister said.

On his part, Regling expressed his satisfaction over the continuation of reforms and pointed out that over a year ago, in March 2020, the Greek prime minister had told him that the government will not stop reforms during the pandemic, in order to ensure a sustainable recovery.

Finally, Regling said that the recovery plan submitted by Greece was "a good plan," adding that the most important thing from now on was its implementation.