Round The World

New Delhi, 26 February 2024

Greek PM in India

DRAWING NEW DELHI IN

By Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Giri

(Secretary General, Assn for Democratic Socialism) 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recent visit to New Delhi was significant as it underlined the critical need for both countries to come together. Besides, the visit came after 15 years by a head of the state or head of government of Greece. The last Greek prime minister visit occurred in 2008. Also, during this visit, India and Greece initiated or renewed ground-breaking partnerships and projects. 

The process of deepening the bilateralism had begun last year in August when Prime Minister Modi had visited Greece. That visit was equally or more significant as any Indian Prime Minister had been to Athens 40 years ago. During Modi’s visit, India-Greece relations were upgraded to a strategic partnership. It was also decided that the bilateral trade will be doubled by 2030. Thus, Modi’s visit marked a historic occasion when he was conferred the highest civilian award of Greece, Grand Cross of the Order of Honour by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. 

Mitsotakis who was on a two-day official visit and was the chief guest and keynote speaker at the Raisina Dialogue, 2024, said, “PM Modi’s historic visit to Athens created a momentum which will be accelerated by his visit to India”. He was emphatic and optimistic about India and Greece relations. He said to a Greek journalist Alexis Papahalas on the eve of his departure to India, “India will find no better gateway to Europe than my country and for Greece, there is no better gateway to Asia than a close strategic relationship with India”. 

Mitsotakis made a forceful plea for proceeding with India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC) despite the continuing conflict in Gaza. This corridor was conceived as a counterweight to Beijing’s BRI which made the participating countries debt-prone and impaired their sovereignty. The founding members of IMEC could not meet due to the war in Gaza. Also, Israel’s Haifa port owned by Indian Adani Group was expected to be a key point for the ship-and-rail route proposed under IMEC. It would start from India’s West Coast through UAE through Saudi Arabia to Jordan and Israel before reaching Greek’s Piraeus port and to the rest of Europe. 

According to a promising statement made by the Greek Prime Minister, “IMEC holds great promise to supercharge connectivity between India and the growth of economies in the Middle-East and Europe. IMEC will be good for the entire world in the long run. Mitsotakis economic reforms in last five years are leading to stability. Greece remains a solid member on Eastern flank of the European Union and in the Eastern Mediterranean. So, IMEC becomes important for Greece. 

India-Greece relations go back to 326 BC when the Greek hero Alexander came up to North-West of Indian Sub-Continent up to Beas River where he fought a battle with Raja Puru of Paurav dynasty. As per the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 518 identified soldiers of undivided India defending Southern Europe in World War-I were buried in Greece. A Greek national Dimitrios Galanos born in Athens spent 47 years in India. He translated Indians scriptures into Greek language. He also produced a Sanskrit-English-Greek dictionary containing 9000 words. He died on 3 May, 1833 in Varanasi. A Dimitrios Galanos chair of Hellenic studies was set up in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 2000. The famous Gandhara art is believed is to be a fusion of India and Greek art traditions.

Diplomatic relations began in May 1950 with the setting up of Greek Embassy in New Delhi. India opened its Embassy in Athens in 1978. The bilateral relations have been conducted through two instruments: one, Joint Economic Community (JEC) and the other Foreign Office Consultation (FOC). The latter meets alternatively in Delhi and Athens. 

Both the countries have decided to celebrate next year the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. To mark the occasion, it was decided to, “Prepare an action plan that will enable both the countries to showcase their common heritage, science and technology, innovation, sports and other areas on the global stage. 

Both countries are ‘prisoners’ of geography. But their strategic locations are important to the global system and geo-political prosperity. Recent events at Red Sea have demonstrated that the security of East Mediterranean region where Greece is located virtually depends upon the stability of the Indian Ocean region. That is why perhaps Greece decided to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiatives launched by India during its G-20 chairmanship. Greece has the world’s biggest merchant fleet, and its geographical position makes it an obvious partner for the project. 

On trade and commerce, India exports aluminium, organic chemicals, fish and crustaceans, plastics, textile articles, chemicals, iron and steel. It imports from Greece minerals, mineral fuels, oil, sulphur, aluminium foil, mineral oils, lime and cement, products for their distillation, electrical machinery equipment and building stones. 

During the visit of the Greek Prime Minister, who was accompanied by senior officials and business executives, several agreements were signed. These related to collaboration on start-ups, cooperation in shipping and connectivity, collaboration in higher education, support in defence, cyber security, maritime security and counter terrorism. 

In a joint press conference with his counterpart, the Greek Prime Minister said, “We are deepening the strategic cooperation in all spheres from defence to education, culture, tourism, agriculture, trade and investment”. One important agreement was the finalising of a mobility and migration pact to regulate legal migration. This will enable skilled workforce from India to migrate to Greece and contribute to its economy. Another significant agreement was the co-production and co-development of military hardware. 

Already Indian Navy and Air force are conducting joint exercises with Greek Armed Forces. An Indian company is building a new airport on the Island of Crete. An Indian business family has invested in food business in Greece. A shipping company from India is in brokerage firm in Athens, and it looks to be a major player in the Trans-Atlantic shipping market. A Greek bank has joined up with Indian financial institutions to sell mutual funds products globally. But such transactions do not seem to be good enough. More needs to be done. 

Mitsotakis said India should be a corner stone of Europe’s foreign policy. In any case, this is certainly the case for Greece. The leadership in Greece has been pushing for a closer India and EU relations. In particular, Athens is nudging the EU to sign the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement between EU and India. The year 2024 is crucial for Europe and the world, and so is for Greece and India. 

One hopes that the diplomatic niceties are backed by sincere efforts on both sides. Prime Minister Modi is reaching out to new partners and building fresh contacts. Although India and Greece have been connected since long, it is time they make the partnership robust in their mutual interests.---INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)