Times of India: "The Embassy of Greece celebrates 202nd anniversary of Greek Independence in Delhi" (27.3.2023)

The Embassy of Greece in India hosted the celebration for the 202nd anniversary of the Revolution for the Greek Independence in the evening of 27th March. The Chief Guest was the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Mrs Meenakshi Lekhi. Ambassador of Greece in India, Mr Dimitrios Ioannou, in his welcoming speech, said that Greece and India are natural allies and countries with a long civilisational background. He praised Minister Lekhi’s commitment to the promotion of the cooperation between the two countries and thanked her for her proposal to inscribe a shared Greek-Indian cultural heritage in various fields in the framework of UNESCO. Ambassador Ioannou also said that if “a country like India did not exist, we should have invented a country like this.” Minister Lekhi praised this particular reference and referred to Dimitrios Galanos, a unique case of a Greek Indologist who spent 47 years of his life in India  and died in Varanasi in 1833 and who was the first one to introduce indian philosophical texts to the western world. She then spoke about a contemporary Dimitrios, Greek Professor Dimitrios Vassiliadis, President of the Hellenic-Indian Society for Culture and Development, who will be awarded the ICCR Alumni Award for 2022-23. Mrs Lekhi altogether appreciated the depth of the friendly relations and civilisational connect between Greece and India and recognized Greece as a true friend of India.

Greek delicacies were offered to the guests (souvlaki pork and chicken chops, moussaka, shrimp saganaki, traditional spinach and cheese pie, tzatziki yoghourt dip as well as Greek milk pastry galaktoboureko and Greek baklava). FIDES Import team with mixologists Magandeep and Siddharth presented spectacular cocktails on the basis of greek spirits. A stand of the B-fresh delicious greek juices was also set up. Throughout the reception there was also a projection of promotional videos from the Greek Board of Tourism “Visit Greece” on greek destinations, cuisine, music as well as Indian Bollywood film song clips shot in Greece (from Chalte Chalte, Bang bang, Wanted, Tashan and Tiger Zinda Hai films).