Over the past four years, Greece has undertaken strategic steps to strengthen relations with India, attract investments, and expand Greek exports into the vast Indian market, as evident from a review of bilateral contacts and exchanges ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to New Delhi to participate in the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Building close relations with the world’s most populous democracy, its largest consumer market, and one of the fastest-growing major economies worldwide is considered a strategic choice with both economic and geopolitical dimensions, government sources emphasized. This forms part of a broader effort to enhance Greece’s diplomatic footprint, leveraging both its geographic position as a commercial gateway to Europe and the credibility it has built in relations with numerous countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Tangible outcomes of Greece’s opening toward India include the first direct air link between the two countries, inaugurated this January, with the Indian carrier IndiGo now operating flights both between New Delhi and Athens, and between Mumbai, India’s financial hub, and the Greek capital. Starting in March, Aegean Airlines is also scheduled to launch flights to India, initially to New Delhi and later to Mumbai.

Greece has also planned the opening of two new consulates, in Mumbai and Bengaluru, complementing the embassy in New Delhi and the general consulate in Kolkata. In this way, Greece’s diplomatic presence will align with air travel destinations, further facilitating mobility, business partnerships, and investments between the two countries.

Moreover, direct flights are expected to gradually bring significant benefits to tourism, given that India’s growing middle class interested in traveling to Europe is projected to exceed 500 million people by 2030.

Closer Greek-Indian ties also extend to infrastructure projects and investment flows. A notable example is the partnership between India’s GMR Airports and Greece’s TERNA for the construction of the new international airport in Kasteli, Crete, while numerous bilateral investments have been made in the pharmaceutical sector.

Significant activity is also observed in the information technology sector, as major Indian groups already have a presence in Greece, such as Infosys, focusing on cloud and artificial intelligence services, and i-exceed, which established a subsidiary in Athens to develop applications.

Regarding maritime trade, beyond Greek ports serving as natural hubs for transport across the Europe–Asia–Africa triangle, Indian commercial shipping is both a client and partner for Greek maritime services. This relationship could be further strengthened over time with the planned India–Middle East–Europe Commercial Corridor (IMEC), a project that would naturally culminate in Greece, which Athens has supported from the outset.

Finally, prospects are particularly favorable for increased exports of Greek food products to the large Indian market, given the significant tariff reductions envisaged in the trade agreement signed between the EU and India in January. While ratification and implementation of the agreement will take some time, the benefits will ultimately be substantial, especially considering protections for geographical indications.

For example, according to the European Commission, Indian tariffs on olive oil will be reduced to zero, from the current 45%. Import duties on wine will gradually fall to 20% for high-quality wines, compared with 150% today. Tariffs on fruit juices and goat and sheep meat will drop to 0%, compared with current rates of 55% and 33%, respectively.

“There is strong interest in closer and mutually beneficial cooperation across many fronts,” said a government official familiar with the strategy for India. The same source noted that in February 2024, when a Greek business delegation visited New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, more than 1,000 business meetings took place.

On the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the third time since 2023, two and a half years after the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership level. The Prime Minister will also hold meetings with top executives of major tech companies, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, and Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith.