IMF Athens office closing, Greek Prime Minister meets President Trump.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the closure of the IMF office in Athens after meeting Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the Fund, in Washington on Tuesday.
Mitsotakis thanked Georgieva for her support of Greece and acknowledged that the past relationship between Greece and the IMF has been difficult.
“The relationship with the Fund has not always been easy, but I think we agree on some important issues, such as the need to reduce primary surpluses in 2021,” Mitsotakis said.
“I believe the time has come for this discussion with our partners in the Eurozone. We are a credible government, we are implementing reforms, we are in a low interest rate environment, our borrowing costs are lower than in Italy. There is no reason to limit ourselves with these high primary surpluses.
“So we look forward to a whole new chapter in our relationship, a relationship of positive cooperation. I welcome our joint decision to close the IMF office in Athens in the coming months and continue to work together, but as a country that has come out of the strict IMF supervision,” Mitsotakis added.