“Greece and India are close to one another in many respects. Our shared values serve as a bridge that brings us closer,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday during an official visit to India, the first by a Greek premier in 16 years, in joint statements with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi after their meeting in New Delhi.

Among these shared values, Mitsotakis cited “a certain shared ‘ethos’ or ‘dharam’, as you call it,” as well as a strong commitment to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as their loyalty to the principles of the UN charter, diplomacy and stability.

“In every area our cooperation shows great promise, not only bilaterally but also in multilateral areas, including the UN,” he said.

He noted the significant prospects for cooperation between Greece and India through the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC): “Greece – you just have to look at a 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 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 prosperity of the greater region for the benefit of all countries involved.”

He noted that the joint declaration signed by Greece and India in Athens in August had upgraded the two countries relations to a strategic level and was already being put into practice.

“Crucially, the world’s oldest democracy and 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,” Mitsotakis remarked.
Referring to the agreements already signed in defence and agriculture, Mitsotakis also highlighted the importance of a memorandum of cooperation to be signed by the two countries on migration and mobility.

Modi: There are opportunities for closer cooperation

The Indian prime minister, on his part, described Mitsotakis’ visit to India as an incredible opportunity, saying the two countries aimed to further promote their relations. He said that there were opportunities for closer cooperation and that the two countries were taking the necessary steps for this, citing defence, mobility and migration as areas where there are new opportunities for cooperation.