Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in New Delhi (21/2/2024)

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of his official visit to India, met today at Hyderabad House with his counterpart, Narendra Modi.

In the joint statements of the two leaders after the conclusion of their meeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted:

“Dear Prime Minister Modi, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed with great pleasure that I am here in India for the first time in my official capacity. And the Prime Minister was right to point out that it has been 16 years since a Greek Prime Minister has visited a great country. And in Greece last August, I had the distinct privilege of receiving Prime Minister Modi, who kindly extended an invitation for my official visit to India. And I have been eagerly looking forward to this trip ever since.

And together with Prime Minister Modi, we continue building on the positive momentum in our bilateral relationship. The joint declaration that we signed in Athens a few months ago and which upgraded our relationship to a strategic level, is already being put into practise. And as the Prime Minister said, we are making significant progress towards deepening this strategic cooperation in all spheres: in security and defence, investment and trade, science and technology, cyberspace, education, culture, tourism, agriculture.

Greece and India are close to one another in many respects. Our share of values serve as a bridge that brings us closer. We both share, I would say a certain ethos, or ‘dharam’, as you call it.

We both share, as the Prime Minister said, a strong commitment to International Law and especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, we’re both loyal to the principle of the UN charter, diplomacy and stability, and crucially, the world’s oldest democracy, the world’s largest democracy, share the mutual political will to cooperate with each other to establish partnerships and to explore and create new synergies.

And in Prime Minister Modi, I have found a visionary, a principled leader and, dare I say, a true friend. And the importance that we attach to our relations with India is evident not only in the increase of our bilateral contacts over the past year, but also in the partnerships we have developed.

Last year we signed a Memorandum of Understanding in crucial areas such as agriculture and defence. And this year we are working -and I’m sure we will finalise very quickly- a very important agreement on migration and mobility. It will constitute a very important step towards strengthening our cooperation in issues such as legal 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 and the prospects for strengthening our connection. Thanks to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, what we call the “IMEC project”, which was launched by India during its G20 presidency, are even brighter.

Greece, you just have to look at the map to realise this, is India’s gateway to Europe. And through IMEC, we see our participation as a very important aspect of this strategic partnership.

But of course, as we discussed, in order to achieve this, we need peace in the Middle East and stability is the necessary condition for every project that aims to increase the greater prosperity of the greater region to the benefit of all countries involved.

And several of my meetings here in India today, together with a very large delegation of Greek business representatives, focus on promoting our economic ties, with particular emphasis on sectors such as renewable energy infrastructure, our ports and shipping and logistics. And of course, we want to learn from the Indian miracle of information technology and as we discuss, bring together our very vibrant startup communities.

Mutual investments are a major goal in these bilateral relations, I am pleased to say we already have important Greek investments in India and many sectors, including food products, infrastructure, in transport and logistics.

And of course, India is also beginning to invest in Greece. For example, an Indian company is building, together with a leading Greek construction company, the new airport on my home island of Crete. But of course, we need to be more ambitious when it also comes to trade flows, doubling our trade by 2030. Why not earlier? And in every area our cooperation I think shows great promise, not only bilaterally, but also in multilateral arenas, including the UN.

Greece will support India’s candidacy to the UN Security Council for the period of 2028-2029 and of course, we also support and participate in the broader dialogue about reforming the UN itself in order to make it more representative of the shifting patterns of development and global power. We know that the world today is facing unprecedented challenges that require immediate and efficient action, from the ongoing war in Ukraine to the situation in the Middle East, from climate change to food, energy security.

For all these challenges, one thing is certain. In order for governments to tackle them, international partnerships and collective action is paramount. And India has a critical role to play in this endeavour.

And we view India as one of the main pillars of stability and security in the broader region of the Indo Pacific. And given your size, history, your strategic importance, it is a very positive development that India is assuming with vigour this new leadership role. We consider our country to constitute a pillar of stability in our own region, the eastern Mediterranean. And it is this mutual commitment to peace that has brought us so close and that will, I believe, foster and strengthen this strategic partnership.

We have set a lot of very specific deliverables to our teams and as we will be celebrating, as you pointed out, your Prime Minister, 75 years of diplomatic relations next year, I think this gives us the added impetus to work towards materialising this very ambitious agenda.

Again, thank you so much for this welcome and let me extend my heartfelt wishes for the continued welfare and prosperity of the very friendly and welcoming Indian people”.

Seeking to strengthen and upgrade bilateral relations

During their meeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Narendra Modi discussed the strengthening and upgrading of relations at all levels, as outlined in the Joint Statement of Strategic Partnership signed by the two leaders during Mr. Modi’s official visit to Athens last August.

The two leaders discussed the goal of doubling bilateral trade by 2030 and the more systematic contact and interconnection between Greek and Indian businesses.

Particular reference was made to strengthening cooperation in the fields of high technology, digitalisation, start-ups, as well as infrastructure and logistics centres, a sector in which, as the Prime Minister stressed, there are great opportunities for Indian companies, due to Greece’s strategic position.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Narendra Modi also exchanged views on cooperation in defence, education and culture, particularly on the protection of cultural monuments.

They also discussed potential synergies in green energy and agriculture, while the two leaders expressed their willingness to conclude the bilateral Mobility Agreement in the near future.

Issues of international and regional interest were also discussed, with emphasis on the situation in Gaza and the latest developments in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis then met with the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar.

During their meeting they discussed the deepening of bilateral relations, the common challenges faced by the two countries and the role of Greece as a pillar of stability and security in the broader region.