Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Athens, the capital of Greece, for a day-long trip on 25 August after his three-day visit to South Africa for the 15th BRICS summit. He was received by the country’s foreign minister George Gerapetritis and accorded a grand ceremonial welcome upon his arrival.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis received PM Modi on his arrival in Athens. https://t.co/ypTaUC6VyQ
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2023
The Mediterranean country had not seen an Indian prime minister on their soil in forty years till today. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, both sides hope to develop and broaden their engagement in the areas of commerce and investment, infrastructure cooperation, shipbuilding, and defence and security.
Just in: Indian PM Modi reaches Greece's capital Athens; marks a significant milestone as he becomes the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in four decades.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 25, 2023
PM Modi met the Indian diaspora who gathered outside Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens to greet him.
#WATCH | PM Modi arrives at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, meets Indian diaspora gathered outside the hotel to greet him on his arrival in Greece pic.twitter.com/BreljFoTiN
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2023
The prime minister reached Athens after he concluded the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg where it was announced that Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia would join the strategic alliance as full members from 1 January 2024.
Prime Minister’s schedule in Greece
A number of agreements are expected to be signed during the significant visit which took place at the invitation of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and emphasis on subjects like trade and investment, shipping, migration and defence cooperation. Greece could also approach India for assistance in the privatisation of its seaports and airports in an effort to become India’s gateway to Europe.
The Indian prime minister is scheduled to pay a visit to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens which is located in front of the Parliament building, based on the preliminary itinerary. It is the country’s second most popular tourist attraction after the Acropolis.
Afterwards, there would be closed-door delegation-level discussions between the two leaders and they would then jointly address influential business figures from the two nations. Narendra Modi would also interact with members of the Indian diaspora in Athens. It is estimated that there are 13,000 to 14,000 of them living there. The prime minister would join a business lunch hosted by his counterpart and return to India at around 7:25 in the evening.
The foreign affairs ministry stated that New Delhi viewed the visit as a move to improve security and defence ties and accelerate military exchanges and training. Additionally, PM Modi could discuss cooperative manufacturing and technology exchange as well as invite the Greek government along with businesses to participate in the Make in India initiative, particularly in the defence industry.
The major development occurred after S Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, visited the nation in 2021 and rekindled relations between the two countries. The European nation signed the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement and supported an agreement on the Missile Technology Control Regime with India at that time.
Significance of the visit
The Ministry of External Affairs described the visit as important and termed the country as “one of the most important European partners of India” before the prime minister’s departure to Johannesburg. Greek Ambassador to India, Dimitrios Ioannou, also echoed similar sentiments and mentioned that the two countries would focus on fostering greater connectivity between India and the European Union.
The visit has wider geopolitical ramifications in addition to deepening relations and improving security cooperation with Greece. The arrival of PM Modi only strengthens ties with the country which has traditionally backed India in the Kashmir conflict. This is beneficial since Pakistan is advancing the false narrative against the Indian state on a global scale.
India’s expanding connections with Greece would benefit India in the Mediterranean area, which is crucial for the country’s energy security due to its vast oil and gas resources. Growing ties between the two nations are also an effective deterrent to China’s growing sway in the Mediterranean.
Beijing has been stepping up its economic and military influence in the region, therefore, New Delhi’s visit is the ideal step to counter that rising influence. The partnership is also an effort by New Delhi to counter the evolving Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijani axis.
Notably, Greece has been attempting to enhance relations with India in an effort to fight their shared foe, Turkey. Tensions between Athens and Ankara have persisted for years due to a variety of bilateral disputes including disagreements over maritime boundaries, conflicting claims to respective continental shelves and the protracted Cyprus conflict.
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes an aggressive stance on Kashmir and brings it up at every United Nations address, the connection between New Delhi and Ankara is also cold.
The expanding ties between India and Greece are unequivocal proof that New Delhi is looking to broaden its global influence and is no longer comfortable with taking a back seat.
Late Indira Gandhi was the last Indian leader to visit the Mediterranean country back in 1983. Andreas Papandreou, a former Greek prime minister had made three trips to India before the recent developments. Once in January 1985 for a summit on nuclear disarmament, in November 1984 for Indira Gandhi’s burial which was followed by another visit in January 1986 as the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations.
