Greece and India “share an invaluable bond, given that Greece is the birthplace of the Republic and India is today the largest Republic in the world”, notes Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis in an interview with the Wion news agency, ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister of Greece India’s Narendra Modi in Greece on Friday.

Mr Gerapetritis describes the visit as “historic”, “given that it is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Greece after 40 years”.

“We sincerely hope that Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Greece will give new impetus to the dynamics of our relations. Prime Minister Mitsotakis is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi,” he underlines.

“We share common values ​​and principles, an active interest in the promotion of Democracy and dialogue, respect for International Law and the rules-based international order. This is reflected in the way the two countries have forged a strong relationship, which we aspire to turn into a strategic partnership,” he points out.

“Greece and India can start a mutually beneficial strategic partnership by strengthening their bilateral relations and investing in connectivity”, he underlines and adds:

“To this end, maritime infrastructure in Greece, such as the port of Piraeus, one of the largest ports in Europe in terms of container handling, can become India’s gateway to Europe.”

The Mediterranean, as he states, “is an area of ​​enormous geopolitical importance, as it is a crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. Greece, as a member state of NATO and the European Union, can take the lead in promoting synergies in Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean.”

“Greece is a maritime nation and India is the 5th largest economy in the world. Greece and India can start a mutually beneficial strategic partnership by strengthening their bilateral relations and investing in connectivity”, he says and emphasizes that: “to this end, maritime infrastructure in Greece, such as the port of Piraeus, one of the largest ports in Europe in terms of container handling, can become India’s gateway to Europe”.

The Foreign Minister emphasizes that the political relations of the two countries are excellent, while we hope to further expand our economic ties, while this is confirmed by the frequent exchange of high-level visits.

As he reminds, during the term of the previous Greek government, and despite the pandemic, there were two visits by the foreign ministers of the countries, as well as several one-on-one meetings between them in various international forums. Political and economic consultations are also ongoing

On June 14, the 13th round of political consultations between Greece and India took place at the level of general secretaries of the foreign ministries. Furthermore, the 8th Session of the Greece-India Joint Economic Commission, which met in Athens in 2022, led to the signing of a Protocol on trade, energy, tourism and maritime cooperation.

“The progress in trade cooperation is reflected in the relevant figures, as the volume of our bilateral trade increased by 58% in 2022, reaching the highest level in the last five years (€1.32 billion),” says Mr Gerapetritis.

Another area of ​​cooperation is defense, he points out. “In addition to the mutual participation of parts of the armed forces in military exercises conducted by the two countries, the head of the Greek Air Force visited India in June, while recently the leadership of the Defense Command Academy of the Indian Armed Forces also visited Greece.”

He points out that in 2019, India’s participation as an honored country in the 84th International Exhibition of Thessaloniki “was a milestone for the strengthening of our commercial and investment cooperation”.

“Greece’s competitive advantage in maritime infrastructure and logistics gives it the opportunity to become the gateway to the European market for Indian products,” he notes.

“We attach great importance to strategic Indian investments in renewable energy, port and airport infrastructure, shipping, IT, health, agriculture, tourism, film and audiovisual production. Our goal is to create mutually beneficial synergies,” he says.

Mr. Gerapetritis underlines that “freedom of navigation and regional maritime stability are of the utmost importance for Greece. We have common understanding on this issue with India, which also plays a critical role in the Indo-Pacific region.”

“Greece and India are committed to International Law and the International Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as fundamental pillars of a rules-based international maritime environment,” he emphasizes.

“We are fully aware of the strategic importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and therefore support this goal. We also welcome the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI), which fully supports freedom of navigation in a safe, stable and sustainable maritime domain.”

Referring to investments in green energy, Mr. Gerapetritis states that “protecting the planet and promoting green development are top priorities of our government”.

“We aspire to intensify our cooperation with India on energy transition issues to achieve the sustainable modernization and development of our economies,” he notes.

He also emphasizes that “Greece enjoys more than 250 days of sunshine a year and has a strong wind potential. Our country presents a significant unexploited potential for electricity generation”.

“Greece is proud to be among the countries that have signed and ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Agreement, an initiative of India and France aimed at developing solar energy technologies to combat climate change.”

Mr. Gerapetritis notes that Greece welcomes the assumption of the presidency of the G20 in a period of international turmoil and global economic slowdown.

“Greece welcomes India’s ambition to address major global challenges in an inclusive manner through beneficial cooperative solutions.”

Finally, when asked about the cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and India in the region, Mr. Gerapetritis states that “Greece and Cyprus are two EU member states with a significant footprint in global trade and the Eastern Mediterranean”.

“In this capacity, they can be a bridge between the European Union and India. Greece appreciates India’s long-term consistent position and support for achieving a just and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue,” he concludes.