by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua)-- The Greek national economy will grow by 2.5 percent of GDP in 2017 after a marginal 0.1 percent this year, the central bank of Greece made the forecast in an interim monetary policy report submitted to parliament and released on Friday.
Amid a new round of tense marathon negotiations on the next steps in efforts to resolve the Greek debt crisis, the Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras urged the government and creditors to work out, in a "genuine spirit of good cooperation," all differences.
It was of critical importance to complete the second review of Greece's third bailout as soon as possible and under no circumstances should progress in the implementation of the program and economic recovery be halted, he stressed, according to a statement.
"Progress with the implementation of the program so far has had beneficial effects on liquidity and confidence and is reflected in the encouraging GDP growth data for the third quarter of 2016, the positive fiscal developments, as well as improved bank results," the report noted.
"This emerging positive momentum in the economy needs to be supported and consolidated through adherence to the program targets and an accelerated implementation of the reforms and privatizations agreed on," it added.
The consistence and implementation of the program will facilitate decision making on mid-term- and long-term measures to ensure the sustainability of the Greek public debt and the inclusion of Greek state bonds in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program, the central bank explained.
"Such a development would pave the way to the full return of the Greek government and Greek businesses to international financial markets," it stressed.
Outlining the challenges and risks ahead, the central bank governor underlined that the most immediate risk relates to a failure to reach a timely completion of the second review.
The surprise announcement of a package of relief measures for pensioners and islanders by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Dec. 8 caused dismay within creditors.
The government insisted that the initiative was in line with bailout commitments.
The Bank of Greece warned on Friday that the achievement of the 2016 fiscal targets is subject to downside risks, related to the one-off Christmas bonus for low income retirees and the VAT hike suspension for the Aegean Sea islands announced by the Greek government.
