Meeting with President Barack Obama: Prime Minister’s statement

March 9, 2010

Prime Minister: I had the opportuniy to inform President Obama about the financial situation in Greece, and of course about the emergency measures we have taken for stabilizing our economy, ones that have been hailed and have had positive reviews from international organizations such as the IMF but also the European Central Bank and many leaders around the world. And he was very supportive of what we have done.

I also was able to describe to him the necessary structural changes we will be making for our economy, to make sure that the money of our taxpayers is well spent, through transparency, through the cutting down of bureaucracy, through making our administration much more smart in its daily work with our citizens. Also in revamping the educational system, the health system.

But also in turning around our economy into a green economy. And I think this is very important. It will be very important for our tourist industry, to be able to have tourists partake and see what a green economy means, and green islands with renewable energy, but also in highlighting the Mediterranean diet, which is so important and so healthy, as so many have said around the world.

I also discussed with President Obama the initiative that we have taken in Europe, Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who is head of the Eurogroup and myself. An initiative to fight speculation, speculators on the international market. This is very important to stabilize international markets and to not allow the crises that may occur, such as the one that occurred in Greece, to be used to create wider destabilization, either of the eurozone or of the world financial system.

And I found a very positive response by the President, and certainly this will be an issue that will be high on the agenda in the next G20 meeting.

Of course, I talked about the region, the fact that Greece has been promoting the agenda, so called the 2014 Agenda, for the entrance of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union, I think a very important stabilizing factor, and Greece will be working hard on this front.

Our relations with Turkey, which I am reinvigorating, and have invited Prime Minister Erdogan to Greece, and I do hope that this will be a fruitful meeting in trying to deal with some of the problems we have had over the years, such as for example the continental shelf, but also the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and of course the Cyprus issue. We talked about where we do hope that there will be a conclusion, and soon, but one which is just and within the European framework.

I reiterated my support for all of the work that President Christofias has been doing, in moving this peace process forward.

Finally, I would like to thank the US administration, and personally President Barack Obama, for announcing today the visa waiver program for Greece. That means that that was, as I told him, a vote of confidence for Greece, a vote of confidence for our economy.

And we stand in close cooperation with the US and other international organizations, to assure that we also contribute to the fight against international terrorism. So again, many thanks to President Barack Obama for this visa waiver program, and this is a very positive sign.