The US company Partners Group has invested more than 1 billion euros in pharmaceutical companies in Greece according to Charles Dallara, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Advisory Partner at Partners Group (USA). Speaking at the Delphi Economic Forum, he said that significant progress has been made in the Greek economy today, which is impressing investors all over the world.
Whilst many policies in recent years have been in the right direction, he added, many of the country's structural problems nevertheless remain unresolved. He underlined, however, that there has been very good fiscal discipline, effective management of the Recovery and Resilience Facility resources and satisfactory growth over the past year. He also underlined that growth in 2023 will be more limited as a result of inflationary pressures, as well as those created by the war in Ukraine.
Referring to the restructuring of the Greek public debt, in which he participated and was involved as managing director of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Dallara argued that it was the largest debt restructuring in history, which not only contributed to the rescue of Greece, in fact, but also to the preservation of the eurozone itself. "The Greeks showed extraordinary courage and endurance," he said.
He admitted, however, that all parties involved in the negotiation made a mistake. "The financial community did not correctly evaluate the Greek debt. "The private creditors turned off the tap," he stressed, explaining that they made the wrong assumption that the issue could be resolved by the European north.
At the same time, he underlined that the EU but also the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had set an arbitrary target for debt management. In addition, making special reference to the management by the IMF, he noted that it was necessary to enrich its human resources with additional experts who can more effectively understand the different problems and conditions in each country.