Mitsotakis: ‘We will not go to war with Turkey’; announces press conference
He said he still believes it’s possible to resolve Greece’s differences with Turkey by speaking with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We should be able to sit down with Turkey as reasonable adults and resolve our main difference, which is the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.”
Relations with Turkey have been particularly strained over the past two years, with alarming rhetoric coming from Turkish officials.
Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkish troops could descend on Greece “suddenly one night” and even threatened to hit Athens with ballistic missiles. (AP)
Moreover, the Hellenic PM had a series of constructive meetings with senior business figures on Thursday, while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Among others, Mitsotakis met with Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, with whom he discussed the importance of training and re-education as the march of technology is changing the labor market.
The prime minister said that Greece has adopted active employment policies, with an emphasis on acquiring digital skills and valid certification, the development of technical education and on a better connection of education with the needs of the market.
Mitsotakis also met with Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, chief investment officer of Singapore’s GIC group, with whom he discussed the strong growth and excellent prospects of the Greek economy. The meeting was held in the context of strengthening bilateral ties, following a meeting between Mitsotakis and his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, in December on the sidelines of the EU-ASEAN summit and of a major tourism investment by GIC in Greece.
The Greek premier also met AstraZeneca’s Board Chairman Leaf Johansson. They discussed the importance of the public health systems, which was particularly highlighted during the pandemic.
Mitsotakis additionally met with the CEOs of Allianz and Coca-Cola, Oliver Bäte and James Quincey, respectively, with whom he discussed the potential of the Greek economy and the challenges of the world economy in the midst of the energy and inflation crisis.
On the sidelines of the forum, Mitsotakis took part in a debate organized by the “The Tomorrow Partnership” initiative of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which focuses on the development of new technologies and digitization to resolve major challenges for public policy, such as reinforcing public health and equal access to modern education.
Mitsotakis presented Greece’s achievements in the digitization of state transactions and services to the citizens, while he had the opportunity to exchange views with representatives of technology and software development firms.
Lastly, in related news, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis will hold a live press conference on Monday on the “economy, growth and the labor market,” spokesperson Yiannis Economou recently announced.
The press briefing will start at 12.30.
