High Minister Narendra Modi reached Athens, the capital of Greece, for a day-long shuttle on 25 August after his three-day seek advice from to South Africa for the fifteenth BRICS summit. He used to be gained through the rustic’s overseas minister George Gerapetritis and accorded a grand ceremonial welcome upon his arrival.
Greek International Minister George Gerapetritis gained PM Modi on his arrival in Athens. https://t.co/ypTaUC6VyQ
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2023
The Mediterranean nation had now not observed an Indian high minister on their soil in 40 years until nowadays. In step with the Ministry of Exterior Affairs, all sides hope to expand and develop their engagement within the spaces of trade and funding, infrastructure cooperation, shipbuilding, and defence and safety.
Simply in: Indian PM Modi reaches Greece’s capital Athens; marks an important milestone as he turns into the primary Indian High Minister to seek advice from the rustic in 4 many years.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 25, 2023
PM Modi met the Indian diaspora who collected out of doors Resort Grande Bretagne in Athens to greet him.
#WATCH | PM Modi arrives at Resort Grande Bretagne in Athens, meets Indian diaspora collected out of doors the lodge to greet him on his arrival in Greece percent.twitter.com/BreljFoTiN
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2023
The high minister reached Athens after he concluded the fifteenth BRICS summit in Johannesburg the place it used to be introduced that Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia would sign up for the strategic alliance as complete individuals from 1 January 2024.
High Minister’s agenda in Greece
A lot of agreements are anticipated to be signed right through the vital seek advice from which happened on the invitation of Greek High Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and emphasis on topics like business and funding, transport, migration and defence cooperation. Greece may additionally method India for help within the privatisation of its seaports and airports as a way to grow to be India’s gateway to Europe.
The Indian high minister is scheduled to pay a seek advice from to put a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens which is positioned in entrance of the Parliament development, in accordance with the initial itinerary. It’s the nation’s 2d hottest vacationer enchantment after the Acropolis.
Afterwards, there can be closed-door delegation-level discussions between the 2 leaders and they’d then collectively deal with influential industry figures from the 2 international locations. Narendra Modi would additionally have interaction with individuals of the Indian diaspora in Athens. It’s estimated that there are 13,000 to fourteen,000 of them dwelling there. The high minister would sign up for a industry lunch hosted through his counterpart and go back to India at round 7:25 within the night.
The overseas affairs ministry mentioned that New Delhi considered the seek advice from as a transfer to toughen safety and defence ties and boost up army exchanges and coaching. Moreover, PM Modi may talk about cooperative production and generation trade in addition to invite the Greek govt along side companies to take part within the Make in India initiative, in particular within the defence trade.
The foremost building took place after S Jaishankar, the minister of exterior affairs, visited the country in 2021 and rekindled family members between the 2 nations. The Eu country signed the Global Sun Alliance Framework Settlement and supported an settlement at the Missile Era Regulate Regime with India at the moment.
Importance of the seek advice from
The Ministry of Exterior Affairs described the seek advice from as necessary and termed the rustic as “one of the vital necessary Eu companions of India” sooner than the high minister’s departure to Johannesburg. Greek Ambassador to India, Dimitrios Ioannou, additionally echoed an identical sentiments and discussed that the 2 nations would focal point on fostering larger connectivity between India and the Eu Union.
The seek advice from has wider geopolitical ramifications along with deepening family members and making improvements to safety cooperation with Greece. The coming of PM Modi handiest strengthens ties with the rustic which has historically subsidized India within the Kashmir struggle. That is recommended since Pakistan is advancing the false narrative in opposition to the Indian state on a world scale.
India’s increasing connections with Greece would get advantages India within the Mediterranean house, which is a very powerful for the rustic’s power safety because of its huge oil and gasoline assets. Rising ties between the 2 international locations also are an efficient deterrent to China’s rising sway within the Mediterranean.
Beijing has been stepping up its financial and army affect within the area, subsequently, New Delhi’s seek advice from is the perfect step to counter that emerging affect. The partnership could also be an effort through New Delhi to counter the evolving Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijani axis.
Particularly, Greece has been making an attempt to toughen family members with India as a way to combat their shared foe, Turkey. Tensions between Athens and Ankara have endured for years because of numerous bilateral disputes together with disagreements over maritime limitations, conflicting claims to respective continental cabinets and the protracted Cyprus struggle.
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes an competitive stance on Kashmir and brings it up at each and every United International locations deal with, the relationship between New Delhi and Ankara could also be chilly.
The increasing ties between India and Greece are unequivocal evidence that New Delhi is having a look to develop its international affect and is not pleased with taking a again seat.
Overdue Indira Gandhi used to be the closing Indian chief to seek advice from the Mediterranean nation again in 1983. Andreas Papandreou, a former Greek high minister had made 3 journeys to India sooner than the new traits. As soon as in January 1985 for a summit on nuclear disarmament, in November 1984 for Indira Gandhi’s burial which used to be adopted through some other seek advice from in January 1986 as the manager visitor for India’s Republic Day celebrations.
