The new Greek ambassador Vassilios Costis said Thursday that he would make all efforts to enhance Greece-China ties during his tenure.

Greek ambassador Vassilios Costis

Promoting relations with China is one of the three top priorities of the new Greek government which took office last year, Costis said in an interview with China.org.cn in Beijing, adding that Greece is ready to promote cooperation with China in politics, economy, culture and education.

He said that there is much more that needs to be done to enhance the economic cooperation and trade relations between the two countries.

The bilateral trade volume was US$4 billion in 2012. The ambassador said he hoped to see it double within the next two to three years.

He welcomed more Chinese companies to invest in Greece and also encouraged Greek companies to invest in China.

"Growth without foreign investments is out of question," he said.

Costis said that Greece's privatization program provides a big opportunity for foreign investors, including Chinese investors.

In order to attract more foreign investment, he said Greece also passed a new investment law in April to reduce bureaucracy and speed up the investment application procedure.

Greek economy

The ambassador said "this year is the last year of recession" for his country.

"All the signs are positive. This is a view shared by our partners in the eurozone, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund," he added.

"This is an international recognition of the fact that recession is over," said Costis, adding that he is confident that Greek economy will see growth next year.

He admitted that the current unemployment rate remains high but he hopes that with economic growth this problem will be gradually solved over the next five years.

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