Addressing a Francophone Economic Forum in Athens, Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis said on Thursday that “after six years of continuous shrinking, the Greek economy is expected to show a positive real growth rate in Q3 of 2014 and also a positive annual real growth rate of GDP in 2014.”

Mr. Hardouvelis characterized this development as a reversal of the previous trend and underlined that the next day after the memorandum must be “a day of reasonable responsibility.” He also called the banks, especially after the completion of the stress tests, ” to become the basic pillars of growth, funding investments and offering liquidity to enterprises.”

Referring to the new phase of relations with the country’s European partners and the IMF, the Greek Finance Minister said that Greece must first fulfill its fiscal targets, improving economic data and continuing reforms, in order to prove its political responsibility and stability.

He also stressed that the only sustainable road for the future of the Greek economy is raising productivity, attracting new investments and boosting exports.