Thank you, Mike and Antoni, for this very warm welcome. Your Eminences, Ambassador, dear colleagues in the Hellenic Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, dear Michael, dear Mike.
Thank you so much for attending this beautiful lunch. And indeed, it has been five years since we first took the opportunity to bring so many Greek American organizations together for the primary purpose to honor those Greek Americans who have, through their lifelong dedication, committed to strengthening the relationships between our two countries, and the same will be done again today.
And this sort of gathering every September has become sort of an institution. This time, I have the privilege of coming to New York after having spent two days in California. Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalaki, thank you so much for helping us to arrange what was – I think – a very, very successful visit.
And as I was in California speaking to the big technology companies, but also connecting with the amazing Greek and Greek-American community that is active in tech, I was thinking of how much indeed the country has changed over these past five years since we first had this gathering.
Greece is now one of the leaders in terms of the digital transformation of the state. We have an active role in shaping European policies when it comes to artificial intelligence. And for me, it is a signal of the vision that we have for Greece to speak about Greece as a booming technology hub, not just as a country that welcomes more than 40 million tourists a year, but as a country that can really grasp the big challenges of the future and boldly assess its role in shaping events and in the emerging technologies that will shape our lives over the next years.
Because indeed, as I look at where the country is today, what I can tell you is that we continue to remain a pillar of stability in a very turbulent region, a country that is outperforming most of our European peers when it comes to a growth rate, and a country that a decade after the worst of the financial crisis is now serving as a model of fiscal discipline compared to our European partners.
I don’t think many people would have placed a bet that in 2026 Greece would be able to borrow on the international bond markets at a rate that is lower than that of 4 out of the 7 G7 countries. And I think this speaks volumes of the progress that the country has made over the past years.
I remember that when the Greek people first placed their trust in me and my government back in 2019, unemployment in Greece was at 18%. 2019 was the end of a very difficult decade for Greece. More than 500,000 Greeks have actually left the country to seek employment opportunities abroad. And if you look at the state of our job market today, unemployment has dropped under 8%. We have created close to 600,000 new jobs, most of them are well-paying jobs.
If you look at the average salary in Greece, it has increased significantly. And most importantly, those same people who abandoned the country in search of a better future are actually seriously contemplating to return to Greece. Why are they doing this? Because they believe in the long-term prospects of the country.
And this is the most important vote of confidence for this government to continue implementing difficult reforms which will benefit all Greeks once they are properly executed.
And the overall state of the economy puts us in a position to be one of the few governments that today has the ability to support the Greek people, especially those who are in greater need against the cost of living crisis, which as you know is a global problem faced by all governments in the Western world.
I was in Thessaloniki a few weeks ago to announce a support program that exceeds €2 billion in order to offer some support to those Greeks who are in greater need and who are struggling to make ends meet. But I was also very, very clear that we will, no matter what, maintain our commitment to fiscal discipline.
This is what’s got us to the point where we are today. Restoring the credibility of Greece in the international financial markets is the bedrock. It is the foundation upon which our policies are based. And it is always tempting, as you approach a next election, to believe that if you can spend a little bit more, you can make yourself slightly more popular and increase the chances of winning an election. I do not believe that this would be the right approach.
We have worked way too hard over the past eight years to ensure that Greece will never, ever return to the dark ages of the previous decade and the progress we have achieved won’t be derailed.
But at the same time, apart from strengthening our economy, supporting people in greater need, we are also very much aware that we are currently finding ourselves in very turbulent times in a very, very complicated neighborhood.
I am very proud, ladies and gentlemen, that over the past seven years we have significantly strengthened our armed forces. This has been the biggest renovation program any Greek government has ever embarked. And we are very much aware that with the challenges that we face, we need credible deterrent capability. And this is exactly what we are building and what we will continue to build over the next years.
I’ve said it many times, I will repeat it today: Greece is a peaceful country and we always seek to have good and productive relationships with our neighbors, in particular Turkey. We are threatening no one, but we will also not accept to be threatened by anyone. And I want this to be absolutely clear.
At the same time, we are forced to face challenges of a new nature. I mean, Greece has been one of those countries which has been rather successful in managing the migration problem. You may remember back in 2020, it was six months after we first got elected into power, we were faced on our border with Turkey, on our land border with Turkey, with what was essentially a hybrid attack against our territory.
We stood up at that time. We said we would defend our border. We protected our border. And not only that, we convinced the European Union to change its approach towards migration in order to place a much greater emphasis on the protection of the external borders of the European Union.
And I’m saying this because Greece right now is in a position to actually lead in Europe in shaping critical policies that will affect our common future. And I’m very proud that I’m able to lead a government that actually is expressing a strong voice when it comes to important European affairs.
Just look at the energy transition. Greece is a leader in producing electricity from renewable energy, but we’re also very much aware that for the foreseeable future, we will be dependent on natural gas in order to produce electricity and to complement our significant renewable capabilities.
So, it is very important that when we look at our partnership with the United States, we’re opening new avenues of cooperation. Back in 2019, Greece was simply importing the natural gas that was necessary to power its own domestic system. Now we’re importing significant natural gas through the Vertical Corridor to send it towards our northern neighbors in order to provide essentially energy security, not just for the Balkans but also for Eastern Europe.
This is a country that is geopolitically punching above its weight. And is shaping new alliances with the United States in areas which are absolutely critical.
I am very proud that in a few months from now, probably towards the spring of 2027, we will have the first exploratory drilling by a consortium between Exxon and a Greek company to drill for natural gas. This is the first time that this is happening since the 1980s.
Energy security and energy independence are critical elements of geopolitical strength, and we intend to fully leverage those to the benefit of our citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want to take up too much of your time because, as I said, today’s event is primarily dedicated to honoring those who have served this relationship over many decades. But I do want to say a few words again about this wonderful Greek-American community which is represented here today.
I believe that for the first time we have been able to build really strong and resilient bridges between the community, the Greek-American community, and Greece. And these bridges need to be further strengthened.
But in my mind, none is more important than the important reform which we managed to pass through Parliament. It took us a lot of effort and it was not easy, which is none other than giving you the right to vote from where you actually live. You no longer have to return to Greece to cast your vote. There are options. You can do it at the Consulate, or you can mail in your ballot in the next election.
So please, for those of you who actually have a right to vote in Greece, the platform in order to make your application is already open. We are looking forward to your participation. We care about your views. We care about your opinion. And I also do believe that when you live abroad and you look at Greece from a certain distance – geographical distance, not emotional distance, let me make that absolutely clear – you can also see things slightly more clearly. You sort of rise above the petty politics and the natural political confrontation which is a part of any democratic system.
And I think you know better than anybody else that you have every right to feel proud about the progress that the country has made. And at the end of the day, for me, as a Prime Minister of Greece, there is no greater satisfaction than going abroad and being asked one question, which I was asked yesterday at a very interesting lunch I had at the Hoover Institute. Many leading U.S. players in the national security establishment participated.
So they asked me one simple question: How did you do it? How did you turn Greece around? The truth is that Greece today bears no comparison to what Greece was in 2019. But it is also equally true that this job is still unfinished. There is a lot of work to be done, many more reforms to be implemented.
A lot of effort has to be put into ensuring that what we have achieved is essentially irreversible. It was mentioned before that we are seeking a third term. Let me tell you, this is not about breaking records. This is really about changing the country. This is what drives me and what drives our government to continue working very hard to improve the lives of ordinary Greeks, but also strengthen the geopolitical and economic position of Greece abroad.
And we approach this challenge with great humility. We know very well that the longer you stay in power, the greater the perceived desire by some for some sort of change. So we need to work twice as hard to convince the Greek people that we deserve their trust.
And when I look at what we promised the Greek people in 2023 that we would do, and I look at our track record, I think we can look ourselves in the mirror and say, yes, we met most of them, if not all the commitments that we made to Greeks in 2023. And this is a stamp of approval and of confidence and of trust on this contract that we “signed” with the Greek people four years ago.
So if I can only express one personal wish, it is that I hope I’ll be able to join you again next year. But this, of course, will depend upon all of you. Thank you so much. Thank you for the warm welcome. Thank you for everything you do for Greece and for the U.S-Greek relationship. Thank you.
