After concluding the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where it was announced that six additional countries – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Saudi Arabia – will become full members from January 1, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is traveling to Greece on August 25 for a one-day visit.
The visit to the Mediterranean island comes at the invitation of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and it is understood that PM Modi will sign several agreements and focus on issues such as trade and investments, shipping, migration and defense cooperation. A Times of India The report also adds that Greece may seek India’s help in privatizing its airports and seaports, with the aim of becoming India’s gateway to Europe.
Ahead of his visit, here’s why his trip to Greece is important and what to expect.
On his departure from Johannesburg, Prime Minister Modi will fly to Athens, the Greek capital, where upon his arrival he will be welcomed with a ceremony.
A preliminary itinerary reveals that Prime Minister Modi will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament building in Athens. It is also the second most visited monument in Greece after the Acropolis. This will be followed by limited delegation-level talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and then the two leaders will together address top business leaders from both countries. Reports indicate that Prime Minister Modi will also interact with the Indian diaspora in Athens. India has a significant Indian population – it is estimated to number between 13,000 and 14,000 people.
The Indian diaspora welcomed Modi’s decision to visit the country, Manoj Kumar Chouhan told the news agency. ANI“PM Modi is coming here and we are delighted.”
Notably, Modi’s visit to Greece is the first by an Indian prime minister in 40 years; Indira Gandhi was the last Indian leader to visit the Mediterranean country in 1983. Modi’s visit comes after Foreign Minister S Jaishankar visited the country in 2021 and revived ties between the two nations. It was then that Greece signed the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance and also extended support to India under the Missile Technology Control Regime Agreement.
Before all this, former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou had visited India three times: in November 1984 for the funeral of Indira Gandhi, in January 1985 for a summit on nuclear disarmament and in January 1986 as a he chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
Agenda of the meeting
The Foreign Ministry told media before Modi left for Johannesburg that the visit to Greece was important and that India considered the country “one of India’s most important European partners.”
Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra also said: “India and Greece are not only modern democracies, but we also share close and centuries-old historical and cultural relations…Both sides will seek to expand and diversify the segment trade and investment cooperation, deepen and broaden defense and security partnership, infrastructure cooperation and shipbuilding industry.
The Foreign Ministry said it views Modi’s visit to Greece as an attempt to strengthen security and defense cooperation, and increase the pace of military-level exchanges and training of personnel. Additionally, it is likely that Prime Minister Modi would invite the Greek government and companies to participate in the Make in India program, particularly in the defense sector, and consider joint production and technological exchanges.
Greek Ambassador to India Dimitrios Ioannou also echoed similar sentiments when interviewed by Wion. In the interview, Ioannou said both countries would focus on promoting greater connectivity between India and the European Union.
Importance of Visiting Greece
Besides strengthening ties and strengthening security cooperation with Greece, this visit has larger geopolitical implications. Greece has long supported India on the Kashmir issue and Modi’s visit only deepens ties with that country. This helps as Pakistan continues to promote the anti-Kashmir narrative on the world stage.
Furthermore, deepening ties between India and Greece will produce positive results for India in the Mediterranean region, which is of significant importance for its energy security due to its abundant oil and gas resources.
India’s growing ties with Greece also serve as an effective countermeasure against China’s growing influence in the Mediterranean region. Beijing has strengthened its economic and military presence in the region and New Delhi’s visit to Greece is a perfect measure to curb this growing influence.
According to a report published by The federalthe alliance with Greece is also an attempt by New Delhi to tackle the emerging axis of Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Interestingly, Greece has also shown increasing signs of willingness to improve ties with India in order to counter its common rival, Turkey. Athens and Ankara have been at odds for decades over a number of bilateral disputes, including disputes over maritime borders, overlapping claims over their continental shelves and the long-running conflict over Cyprus. New Delhi and Ankara also share cold ties, with Turkish President Reccep Tayip Erdogan taking a belligerent stance on Cashmereand harvesting it from every United Nations speech.
The growing relations between India and Greece clearly prove that New Delhi is no longer content to play a passive role and seeks to expand its global influence. However, the fruits of this quest will only become clearer in the years to come.
With the contribution of agencies
