Government vice president and finance minister Evangelos Venizelos on Monday night addressed the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington on "The Greek Debt Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities".

Venizelos sent a decisive and optimistic message about Greece overcoming the obstacles and efficiently dealing with the economic crisis, adding that there was strong US support that could take on a much more specific and practical form.

The Greek minister outlined the more general problem that has arisen in the eurozone and the development of events after the support mechanism for the Greek economy, as well as the programmes for Portugal and Ireland that followed.

In Greece's case, he said, the problem was more complex, since it was not only the excessive debt but also the excessive fiscal deficit and deficit in the current accounts balance which, he added, reflects a deficit in the competitiveness of the Greek economy and the excessive magnitude of consumption in relation to production.

Venizelos went on to outline the government's policies and planning to deal with the crisis at all levels, such as the introduction of a modern taxation system, drastic reduction of the black economy and stamping out tax evasion, and the adoption of structural changes to render the Greek economy competitive.

He also noted the lead to eliminate obstacles in order to made Greece investor-friendly.

"This is a very ambitious task," he said, given that the fiscal deficit needs to be drastically reduced in the space of three years from 15.5 of GDP percent in 2009 to a primary surplus in 2012.

Venizelos stressed that the Greek government is determined to fully take advantage of the opportunity provided by the recent eurozone summit decisions, the European 'Marshall Plan' for Greece, and activate all the forces inside and outside Greece, including the Greeks abroad and Greek merchant shipping, to give Greece a competitive place on the international market.