As we enter the last month of 2020, we are all looking back, taking stock and assessing how we—individually and collectively—fared in one of the most challenging and disruptive years of our lifetimes. Dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc on the health, economies and social balances of almost all countries, this year also brought a series of major events and developments in key sectors in Greece, Europe, the United States, and around the world.
With various vaccines already showing promising results and governments getting ready to roll out mass vaccination programs in the new year, there is rising optimism for the future and for a much anticipated return to normalcy—and with it, a chance to redirect efforts and recourses to other important events whose developments will affect the future of our country. The financial support packages for EU member states that were announced earlier this year can help fast track the recovery and growth of our economy, provided that funds are efficiently managed in projects and programs that will contribute to reshaping our productivity model, streamlining public administration and boosting our country’s competitiveness in order to attract the necessary investments for the creation of well paid jobs. Improvements to the labor and social security framework, together with a series of specialized incentives, also create favorable conditions for attracting investments, empowering entrepreneurship, advancing research and technology, and creating and repatriating executives with experience and knowledge, necessary elements for a successful and sustainable future.
Meanwhile, the recent presidential election in the United States brought to power a new leadership that we believe will continue to build upon and further enhance the strong bilateral relations that our two countries have so meticulously developed over the past decade, helping to enhance geostrategic stability and prosperity in the SE Mediterranean and further strengthening economic, trade and cultural ties.
In closing, and on the occasion of the truly exceptional agenda of this year’s Greek Economic Summit, I would like to point to our Chamber’s ongoing efforts (through numerous initiatives, events, conferences, and other programs) to support and enhance a strong and stable business environment in Greece and to improve US-Greek commercial and financial relations—efforts that continued throughout 2020, despite the year’s unprecedented challenges and under very different conditions than in other years. The Board and staff of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce are proud of our Chamber’s presence and contribution this year, and we would like to thank our members for their continued support in all our efforts.
Stay all safe and well.
ELIAS SPIRTOUNIAS
Executive Director
