Greece's stability is attracting US investors amid tumult in Turkey and Middle East - CNBC News

5/12/2017

Greece's stability is attracting US investors amid tumult in Turkey and Middle East, minister says

There's a renewed interest from the United States in shoring up its investments in Greece, including in the field of energy

At the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Greece is a key ally for many Western countries

Silvia Amaro | @Silvia_Amaro

CNBC.com

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the start of a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2017.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the start of a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2017.

A series of positive factors for the Greek economy are attracting U.S. investors back to the embattled euro zone nation, a government minister told CNBC.

"There are many American investors who are interested in participating in projects in Greece, because every clever investor would be interested in an economy that now starts to have positive growth rates," Dimitris Tzanakopoulo, Greek minister of state and the government spokesperson, told CNBC Monday.

Following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in October, there's a renewed interest from the U.S. in shoring up its investments in Greece, especially in the energy sector.

Aside from a bounce back in economic growth, Tzanakopoulo said that Greece was "a pillar of stability in a region" and is winning back investors.

"(The region) has many, many problems, wherever you look there's destabilization, there is turbulence," Tzanakopoulo said in his office in Athens.

"We think we are one of the factors which will secure and guarantee stability in the region and this is something everybody knows, from the U.S. to our European partners," he said.

At the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Greece is a key ally for many Western countries in the face of escalating tumult in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East.

In particular, the relationship between Ankara and the U.S. has been underintense strain, not only because Turkey blames the Western world for an attempted coup against the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but also because of divergent views when it comes to dealing with the Islamic State.