The strengthening of Greek-Russian relations and, above all, the attraction of Russian investments in Greece was the main subject of the constructive meetings that the leader of the main opposition party New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis had during his two-day visit to Moscow.

Mr. Mitsotakis met with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mr. Dmitry Medvedev and with the President of the Russian Duma, Mr. Biaczeslav Voluntin. Thursday afternoon he had a working lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and during the day he had a meeting with Greek businessmen in Russia, where he explored the possibilities of supporting Greek businesses that have exporting activities in Russia.

One of the key issues discussed with top Russian officials was the importance of Russian companies’ investments in Greece as part of New Democracy’s plan to rebuild the Greek economy and achieve high growth rates.

Among other things, discussions have highlighted the prospects for economic cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, the agri-food industry and, of course, tourism. It should be noted that Turkey receives 6 million Russian tourists a year, while in our country the number does not exceed 1 million.

Mr. Mitsotakis stated that a future New Democracy government will welcome on the basis of transparency and mutuality and without bureaucratic obstacles all healthy foreign investment in the country.

“Greece’s ambition in the years to come,” he said, “is to be Europe’s investment surprise, capitalizing on all its comparative advantages and human resources. Our goal is to attract 150 billion Euros of investment over the next few years as Greece will be a country with political stability that will help rather than hinder entrepreneurship by reducing taxes in a stable and fair tax environment”.