Macron, Tsipras chair talks with French, Greek businesses
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron to the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center where the two men were to chair a meeting of Greek and French entrepreneurs.
On the second day of his official visit to Greece, flanked by around 40 French entrepreneurs, Macron was expected to repeat his interest in France investing in Greece's recovery.
In comments before the meeting, Macron reiterared his support for Greece's ongoing reform drive and pledged that France will be "present" in Greek investments. He called on French companies that have had a presence in Greece for years to "give new energy, new dynamism to investments in Greece."
Tsipras for his part, noted that Greece was finally "turning a page" after seven years of recession. He heralded "constant reforms" to pave the way for further investments and create jobs.
In his comments on Thursday, Macron had hailed the first signs of recovery in Greece's economy and expressed France's interest in helping the country prosper. Tsipras, for his part, welcomed the involvement in French firms in the privatization of the Thessaloniki Port Authority.
In an interview with Kathimerini ahead of his visit to Greece, Macron had underlined areas of interest for investment.
"Greece has huge growth potential in the sectors of green development, digital media, tourism and agriculture, to mention just a few," he said. "Its research sector is of high quality and many startups are growing," he said, adding that "confidence, growth and investments are the messages that I want to convey."
