Greece – India Embark on a New Chapter After Greek PM’s Visit

At the center: The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo source: Prime Minister’s Press Office

“In tourism, we have only scratched the surface of what we can do together,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the 9th edition of the Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi earlier this week demonstrating the will to embark on a new chapter with India.

Addressing India’s largest business conference, Mitsotakis referred to the many areas of common interest and the significant scope for cooperation between the two countries.

Mitsotakis was on an official visit to India following a historic meeting in Athens last summer with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he met in New Delhi this week.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: Prime Minister’s Press Office

A key area of cooperation he said was in tourism thanks to “a new emerging Indian middle class [that] will start to travel and discover the world. What better natural destination than Greece given the cultural affinities between our two people”.

Accompanying Mitsotakis was a delegation of entrepreneurs who held meetings with Indian business interests as part of expansion plans.

The Greek PM said India was already investing “heavily in Greece’s infrastructure”, including the construction of the new airport by GMR on Crete, Indian-owned Switz Group which has invested in Greek agri-food businesses, and Accord, a European subsidiary of Intas Pharmaceuticals, has recently invested in a factory close to Athens.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: Prime Minister’s Press Office

Mitsotakis and the Greek delegation led by Foreign Minister Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis also attended the “Greece – India Business Forum” held in Mumbai.

During both events, Mitsotakis invited Indian entreperenuers to visit Greece and to see for themselves the opportunities in the fields of defense, energy production, finance, agriculture and tourism.

Photo source: Prime Minister’s Press Office

“Greece has over the past years enjoyed some of the fastest growth rates of any European country. Mutual investment is a major goal of our bilateral relations,” he said.

Lastly, Mitsotakis referred to Greece’s strategic position serving as a “natural stepping stone, the entry gate to enter the European market especially after Brexit”.