The Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General for International Economic Relations, Giorgos Tsipras, met at the Foreign Ministry yesterday with a 16-member delegation from Uppsala University’s Association for International Affairs.

The members of the delegation in question, who specialize in international economic relations, are carrying out a visit to Athens, from 1 to 7 November 2015, for the purpose of studying the political and economic situation in our country, the prospects for growth, the refugee issue, and the government’s efforts to bring Greece out of the crisis.

During the two-hour meeting, which took place in a very friendly atmosphere, the members of the delegation posed a number of questions regarding the competences and objectives of the Secretariat General for International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation, the causes and repercussions of the economic crisis in the country, the new government’s target markets, ways of attracting foreign direct investments, measures that might help the Greek economy more effectively, and the level of Greek-Swedish bilateral relations.

Mr. G. Tsipras responded to the delegation’s questions, highlighting the General Secretariat for International Economic Relation’s priorities and the main challenges the Greek government is facing in external economic and trade relations with the rest of the world.

Mr. G. Tsipras also referred to the steps being taken to improve the investment climate and the effort being made toward the productive reconstruction of the country. Finally, he commented positively on the supportive role Sweden can play.