DIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Athens on Friday, the first by an Indian leader in 40 years, was more than a courtesy call. Modi, who came to Greece directly from the BRICS summit in South Africa, had outlined the real interests both sides staked in the talks in an earlier interview with Athens newspaper Kathimerini. Prior to meeting its Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the newspaper quoted Modi as saying that he saw Greece as “an important economic, logistical and strategic gateway for India to the EU and the Eastern European region”.
Modi praised the host’s economic policies for transforming Greece from a troubled location to a “sunny zone in Europe”. It also opens new perspectives for India whose companies are always looking for investment opportunities overseas. He hoped, Modi said, that Greek and Indian companies would use Greece’s “strategic geography” to create value chains and connect to European markets.
