Ancient Civilisations, Modern Collaboration: India, Greece To Forge Mobility Pact And Other Announcements By PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (25 August) said that India and Greece have agreed to sign a migration and mobility partnership agreement soon.

PM Modi arrived in Greece on Friday on a daylong visit after attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens, PM Modi said, "Greece and India are a natural match between two ancient civilisations of the world, between two ancient democratic ideologies and between two ancient trade and cultural relations," reports Times of India.

"Today, India and Greece are having cooperation on geopolitical, regional issues," PM Modi said.

"After a long gap of 40 years, an Indian Prime Minister has come to Greece. Still, the depth and warmth of our relations have not decreased. So, the (Greek) PM and I have decided to take India-Greece relations to a strategic level," PM Modi said.

PM Modi said that India and Greece have excellent coordination on geo-political, international and regional topics - be it in the Indo-Pacific or the Mediterranean.

"Like two old friends, we understand and respect each other's feelings," he said.

"We have decided to increase our cooperation in the areas of defence & security, infrastructure, agriculture, education, new & emerging technology and skill development and strengthen our strategic partnership," he added.

"To make skilled migration between the two countries easier, we have decided to strike a Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement soon," he said, ANI reported.

PM Modi said that during the bilateral talks between him and the Greek PM, there were discussions over mutual cooperation in the area of terrorism and cyber security.

"We have decided that there should also be an NSA-level dialogue platform," he added.

"Greek PM and I agree that our bilateral trade is increasing rapidly and there is immense potential for an increase in the time ahead too. So, we have decided to double our bilateral trade by 2030," PM Modi said.

Earlier in the day, President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou conferred PM Modi with The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour.

The Order of Honour was established in 1975. The head of goddess Athena is depicted on the front side of the Star with the inscription “ONLY THE
 RIGHTEOUS SHOULD BE HONOURED”.

PM Modi thanked President Sakellaropoulou, the Government and people of Greece for conferring upon 'The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour' on him.

"This shows the respect the people of Greece have towards India," he said.