Addressing in a packed hall of Indian and Greek businessmen, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the future of strategic cooperation with India is bright, calling for economic cooperation and investment that will further upgrade bilateral relations.
After highlighting the turning of a new page in the Greek economy, Mitsotakis outlined the decision to elevate relations with India, in geopolitical, defence and economic levels, while referring to the productive meeting he had yesterday with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
“Some of you probably know Greece for the wrong reasons, which were associated with the long period of the crisis.
I want to tell you that there are no more wrong reasons for you to remember Greece,” the Prime Minister said, urging Indian companies to come and invest in our country and cooperate with Greek companies, highlighting the example of GEK Terna with that of GMR Group.
“Greece is the natural gateway for Indian businesses to the European Union, especially after Brexit.
So it is not surprising that we already have Indian companies investing in Greece,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis continued.
“Look at the map.
Greece is the natural gateway for Indian companies to Europe, especially after Brexit.
Also the IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe) corridor project will lead in one way or another to Greece.
That is why we are strengthening our infrastructure,” Mitsotakis said, noting that there are already Indian companies investing in Greece.
He mentioned by name the GMR group, which in a joint venture with GEK TERNA is implementing the new Heraklion airport and which is the largest in the world in the field of airport management in terms of passenger traffic.
“I even had the opportunity to visit the control tower in New Delhi today (managed by GMR). But this is just the beginning,” Mitsotakis continued.
“There is also interest in various sectors, for example in the defence sector.
We are in the process of transforming our defence industry based on new technologies to create drones and maritime drones.
There are also commonalities between the two nations in the field of shipping and shipbuilding. Common ground also lies in the pharmaceutical industries.
India is strong in this sector, so is Greece especially in generic drugs. There is common ground in financial services, insurance, agriculture… And of course technology.
India is a strong power and Greece has been booming in the last decade, mainly led by the start-up ecosystem, so I see synergies here,” the Prime Minister noted.
Mitsotakis announced that the agreement between Greece and India on mobility will be announced soon, which will allow more labour to come in a coordinated manner, he said, to help in agriculture, industry and the hospitality sector.
“I see no reason why we should not look for new areas of cooperation.
We could add a direct flight between New Delhi or Mumbai to Greece.
The airlines will have an immediate demand if they create such flights,” he said, citing the example of years ago with the US.
He also called for more Bollywood films to be shot in Greece, highlighting the incentives currently offered by the government through ‘EKOME’.
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“So you have to look at the opportunities. As a country we offer good long-term prospects.
We are one of the few countries with political stability.
We experimented with populists and we have overcome it. In fact, our government was re-elected by larger margins.
Mitsotakis was applauded several times during his speech and shortly afterwards he went down to talk to some of the businessmen in the packed hall.
At first he stood at the table where the Chairman and CEO of Eurolife FFH Mr. Alexandros Sarriegeorgiou, the Chairman of India’s LTIMindtree Mr. Sudhir Chaturvedi and the Chairman of Fairfax Digital Services Mr. Sanjay Tugnait were seated, whom he congratulated for the agreement they signed yesterday.
It may be recalled that the agreement is to set up a Gen AI Hub in Athens in the near future.
The Prime Minister also had a warm discussion with shipowner Mr. George Prokopiou, founder and Chairman of Dynacom which has significant operations in India and Eurobank CEO Mr. Fokion Karavia, who also yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to create a direct channel for transactions between Greece and India through the interconnection of the UPI (sic is like IRIS) system which is widely used in India.
The Prime Minister also interacted with members of the Indian business community who were quick to take pictures with him.
Earlier, the Confederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which organised the forum, presented the Prime Minister with a plaque of honour.
