ATHENS – ELSTAT’s official figures on the growth in 2021 that reached 8.3 percent “is a good defence line against the difficulties we are facing due to the price hikes,” underlined Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after his meetings on Friday with the workers at Neorion Shipyards, at the Ermoupolis Town Hall, the Chamber of Commerce of Cyclades and the regional unit of Syros.

“I come at a difficult and also interesting conjucture. The challenges that the whole planet is facing from the tragic geopolitical developments in Ukraine are known. However, I am also optimistic that we will be able, as a country and as an economy, to overcome this temporary turbulence,” the premier said.

He also appeared optimistic about the course of tourism: “I do not believe that there will be serious consequences for tourism from the developments in Ukraine. All the early figures are very encouraging and we are looking forward to a very good tourist season”.

Greek economy had a strong recovery in 2021, almost covering losses in 2020, ministers say

“The Greek economy, in the midst of an adverse environment, recovered strongly in 2021 covering almost all the losses of 2020,” stated Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras and Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis in an joint statement on Friday, commenting on ELSTAT’s figures on the course of the country’s GDP in 2021.

They underlined, however, that “this is clouded by the new international environment of high uncertainty and insecurity that eats up the citizens’ disposable income and significantly burdens households.”

For this reason, the two ministers said, “citizens and the state are called upon to continue to work with full sense of the above challenges in order for the present strong recovery to pass the baton to a high, sustainable and socially equitable growth in the interests of all and primarily the younger generation.”