"The Greek economy has been making consistent progress over the past years. The growth rate is significantly higher than the Eurozone average, inflation continues its gradual decline, [and] I'm very happy with our performance when it comes to investments and exports," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at his meeting on Wednesday with visiting Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe.
Regarding the rise in investments and exports, Mitsotakis said this meant "that we are literally changing the fabric of the Greek economy, focusing more on competitiveness issues and addressing the underlying structural problems that we inherited from the crisis".
During the meeting they discussed the course of the Greek economy and issues of European interest as well as the formation of the common European position in terms of trade and tariffs.
The premier noted that "we are living in very interesting times, full of challenges" , while underlining that the country's overall fiscal position is extremely positive.
"We keep surprising ourselves and our partners by exceeding the targets we have set. I think this is quite important for us because it gives us a foundation on which we can build all our remaining policies. Any income support we can offer more vulnerable Greeks essentially comes from the overperformance of the economy," Mitsotakis said. 
He congratulated both the former and current leadership of the economy and finance ministry "for the amazing work we have done in terms of addressing the structural problem of tax evasion," while adding: "I think for the first time we delivered very concrete results and it was necessary to take specific measures in this direction. It is a question of economic efficiency, but it's also a question of fairness." 
As the prime minister underlined, the progress on structural reforms gives the government even more confidence that it will achieve its fiscal targets going forward, which he described as particularly important at a time of great economic uncertainty.
"The stronger the foundations are, the more confident we are that we can address any external shock that lies ahead. So, thank you again for all the support you have personally offered to Greece and the Greek economy. You have always been a strong partner in this sustained effort that we have made over the past years and I feel that I am really welcoming a close friend to Athens," Mitsotakis concluded.
It was also noted during the meeting that since the pandemic, Greece has consistently achieved growth rates that far exceed the European average, has reduced unemployment and boosted employment to pre-crisis levels, has improved its debt-to-GDP ratio at a faster pace than any other country and has increased its exports while upgrading its investment environment.
In addition, Greece's commitment to fiscal stability and the results of the fight against tax evasion were highlighted.
On trade, the premier reiterated his proposal for a mutually beneficial agreement between the EU and the United States, which would maintain deep trade and investment ties.
On his part, Donohoe said that "it is always such a privilege to have the opportunity to meet Prime Minister Mitsotakis," and highlighted the fact that this year marks 50th year of diplomatic relations between Greece and Ireland.
"As President of the Eurogroup, I want to again recognise and acknowledge the extraordinary success of the Greek economy and the achievement of the Greek people. When I joined the Eurogroup a number of years ago, Greece, for a period of time, was unfortunately defined by the financial crisis. Now it is defined as an economy and a country that has made such a successful recovery from the great difficulty of the financial crisis. It is now a country that for many of the important economic indicators is performing ahead of the average within the euro area and many of us look on with great pride and recognition for the successful policies that have been implemented, both by Greece and, I believe, by the Euro area and the European Union," he replied.
He continued by thanking the government's current and former economic teams and expressed confidence that "they will continue to lead the Greek economy to where it now is, at the heart of the Euro area and central to all the debates we are having about the future of the European Union".
"Of course, the foundation of all this is you, Prime Minister, your leadership and the work that your governments have done, without which the hard work of the Greek people would not have achieved what it has today", concluded Donohoe.