exports of goods, tourist arrivals and receipts. the improved outlook for the economy boosted economic sentiment, increased bank deposits, improved greece ’ s credit rating and led to successive declines in the banks ’ dependence on central bank financing : for example, emergency liquidity assistance ( ela ) for greek banks now stands at €26. 9 billion, down from its peak of €90 billion in july 2015. in addition, yields of greek government bonds declined to late - 2009 levels, which allowed the greek government to return to international markets, after a period of three years, on july 25. moreover, the slope of the yield curve steepened, implying improved investor perceptions for the outlook of the greek economy. corporate bond yields have also fallen to historically low levels. meanwhile, greek banks have made their way back to international financial markets by selling covered bonds. looking forward recent soft data, such as the manufacturing pmi and the economic sentiment indicator, point to a sustained recovery in the coming months. overall, in 2017 the bank of greece estimates that gdp will increase by approximately 1. 7 %. for 2018 and 2019, growth is projected to accelerate to 2. 4 % and 2. 7 % respectively. these projections are mainly based on the assumption that the reform programme will be implemented smoothly and according to the existing timetable. 3. risks and major challenges ahead despite the positive signs that are being recorded today and the progress achieved, there are still downside risks to the outlook of the greek economy. in the short - term, the main risk is a delay in the completion of the third review of the programme, which will fuel a new cycle of uncertainty. in such a case economic recovery and the return to international financial markets will prove to be short - lived. in addition, there are external risks associated with developments in global financial markets and geopolitical factors. there are also some medium - term challenges that need to be addressed in order to strengthen the positive outlook. in particular : 2 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches the currently high and persistent long - term unemployment raises inequality, posing a risk for social cohesion and increases the risk that human capital is destroyed, affecting longterm potential growth. banks continue to be burdened with the large stock of non - performing loans and are, thus, unable to provide sufficient credit to the private sector. investment remains at a very low level, due also to the fact that, despite considerable progress, the business environment is not yet considered as friendly as it should be towards

yannis stournaras : the greek economy - prospects and main challenges speech by mr yannis stournaras, governor of the bank of greece, at the 2nd eu - arab world summit on " the greek economy : prospects and main challenges ", athens, 10 november 2017. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to be with you today. the eu - arab summit is a forum that improves communication and fosters cooperation between europe and the arab world. regular dialogue between the two parties improves understanding, builds trust, addresses concerns and challenges, and removes barriers. these positive effects are reflected in improved cooperation at both regional and global level, in the context of multilateral institutions and international fora. this promotes cross - border trade and investment flows, which, in turn, raise economic growth and prosperity in both areas. in the last two days in frankfurt i had the benefit of participation in the high - level policy dialogue between the eurosystem and gulf countries ’ central banks and monetary agencies. in my intervention today i will focus on the greek economy : first, i will present the progress that has been made in greece since the start of the crisis. second, i will discuss the outlook for the economy and the main risks and remaining challenges that must be addressed. third, i will underline the preconditions for a sustainable recovery of the greek economy. finally, i will point out the advantages of investing in greece. 1. progress since the start of the crisis despite past mistakes, occasional delays and even serious backtracking, economic adjustment in greece has been one of the largest ever undertaken by any country. since the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis in 2010, greece has implemented a bold programme of economic adjustment that has fully eliminated fiscal and external deficits and improved competitiveness. the general government balance turned into a surplus of 0. 5 percent of gdp in 2016 from a deficit of 15. 1 percent of gdp in 2009. the primary surplus ( that is, the general government balance net of interest payments ) was 3. 7 percent of gdp in 2016, from a 10. 1 percent of gdp deficit in 2009. this represents one of the largest, if not the largest, fiscal adjustments ever undertaken in economic history. based on this progress, on 25 september 2017, the european council repealed its 2009 decision on the existence of an excessive deficit. the current account deficit has fallen by 15 percentage points of gdp since the beginning of the crisis, with the