Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted the importance of Greece in India’s efforts to get closer to the EU during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
He emphasized that thanks to the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor, the future is brighter and “one only has to look at the map to see that Greece is India’s gateway to Europe.”
“Certainly, to achieve this, peace and stability must be achieved in the Middle East,” stressed the Prime Minister.
Mitsotakis spoke of significant progress in deepening strategic cooperation in security, defense, and cyber security.
The Greek Premier noted that “we are focusing on renewable energy sources, on shipping, on infrastructure and we want to learn from the Indian miracle of Informatics.”
Greece, India in “strategic partnership”
The Indian Prime Minister referred to the visit he made to Greece last August, during which the two countries agreed to elevate their relationship to a “strategic partnership” and argued that the visit of Mitsotakis to India is an “amazing opportunity.”
He stated that today’s discussions were “extremely satisfactory” and underlined that the goal is to double trade between the two countries by 2030. Modi also stressed that there are new opportunities for defense cooperation between the two countries.
The mobility and migration partnership agreement between the two countries was among topics discussed, Modi said. “We held discussions on finalizing the mobility and migration partnership agreement as soon as possible. This will help [in] emboldening our people-to-people partnership,” he said.
“It will constitute a very important step towards strengthening our cooperation in issues such as illegal migration, fighting human trafficking, but also offering young Indians an opportunity to come and work in Greece and benefit from the growth of our economy…,” Mitsotakis noted.
Accompanied by his spouse Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki, the Prime Minister arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where he was received by Modi. He then laid a wreath at the monument of Mahatma Gandhi and left a message in the visitors’ book.
The last prime ministerial visit from Greece to India took place in 2008. The Greek PM is accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. He will also visit Mumbai before returning to Athens.
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, who is also in New Delhi, amplified Greece’s role as India’s gateway to the EU. Greece hopes to become an integral part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and to be India’s gateway to the European Union, he said.
According to Gerapetritis, this ambitious connectivity project will “enhance the strategic importance of the regions involved, both economically and from a geopolitical aspect, while promoting peace and stability.”
Pointing out that he had come at the head of a business delegation of one hundred Greek entrepreneurs seeking to explore the prospects for collaboration and cooperation, he also highlighted the opportunities offered by the EU-India relationship for promoting stability and prosperity, including a large market with half a billion consumers, highly trained labor and a single market without trade barriers, among others.
This is a developing story.
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