BFM: Germany and Greece sign agreement to set up Greek development fund
18 July 2013
German Finance Minister Schäuble met in Athens with Greek Finance Minister Stournaras, Greek Development Minister Hatzidakis, and Dr Schröder, CEO of the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, to discuss the creation of a Greek development fund called the Institution for Growth.
The fund's objective will be to provide small and medium-sized businesses with better access to affordable financing. The KfW will contribute both financially to the fund and provide it with technical assistance. Following the talks, Minister Hatzidakis and Dr Schröder signed a memorandum of understanding to this end.
Commenting on the agreement, minister Schäuble stated: "Greece has made great progress in tackling this difficult crisis, which has often had painful effects on the Greek people. By coming to Greece, I wanted to show clearly that Germany supports Greece as it moves forward along this difficult path. Germany is prepared to provide the Institution for Growth with technical assistance via the KfW, and to participate financially in the new development fund."
Greek finance minister Stournaras added: "For Greece, like other countries affected by the crisis, the main challenge right now is to combine fiscal consolidation with economic growth. All of the measures we take must target these two objectives. If we fail to achieve both of these objectives, we risk pushing large parts of society to the margins, which in turn would jeopardise the progress that we have already made."
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