Greece entry point for Indian firms to tap European market: PM Mitsotakis

Greece and India have a "lot of complementarities" in shipping, pharma and other sectors, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday as he emphasised that his country is the natural entry point for Indian companies to tap the European market.

Addressing the 'India-Greece Business Forum', organised by FICCI and Enterprise Greece here, he said Greece and India have a "lot of complementarities" in shipping, pharma, such as defence, drones, agriculture, information and communication technology, tourism.

He said "we expect to make concrete announcements very soon regarding the signing of the mobility migration agreement, enabling more Indian labour to come to Greece in an organised manner".

On a sector-to-sector approach, the prime minister said, "You will realise that there's a lot of complementarities between sectors where Greece has a comparative advantage and where India is also quite strong."

"I can see interesting natural synergies emerging in the technology space," he added.

Mitsotakis is the first Greek premier to travel to India in 16 years, and his trip is a follow-up to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Athens last year, the first by an Indian premier in four decades.

According to him, drones, sea drones, shipping, pharma, financial services, banking, insurance agriculture, among others, are such areas where Greece sees a lot of complementarities with India.

"We have great people to people, connections, we have a vibrant Indian community in Greece, and we want to foster these connections much further," he emphasised.

The Prime Minister added that Greece's location is such that it is the natural entry point for Indian companies to enter the European market.

After Brexit, Indian companies will be looking for a new European anchor to access the European market.

He also said that tourism and hospitality is an untapped opportunity.

While mentioning that there is no direct flights connecting India and Greece, he said, "I am sure this will change very quickly. What we have seen is the moment airlines are bold enough to schedule these flights, there is immediate demand for them."

India is a powerhouse for technological development, and Greece, emerging over the past decade, has a very dynamic tech sector, primarily fuelled by startup companies that have been doing incredibly well, he said.

"We have prominent food companies already present here and I see no reason why we cannot expand and tap the potential of the Indian market through our export-oriented group companies," he said.

He said "we expect to make concrete announcements very soon regarding the signing of the mobility migration agreement, enabling more Indian labour to come to Greece in an organised manner".

He said India is a powerhouse for technological development, and Greece, emerging over the past decade, has a very dynamic tech sector, primarily fuelled by startup companies that have been doing incredibly well.

"We also have other things in common. We are two ancient civilisations with great respect for each other. We have great people-to-people connections," he said.

He also said Greece has a vibrant Indian community and it wants to foster these connections much further.

Mitsotakis said both India and Greece governments have demonstrated that one needs bold reforms, and can use technology to deliver public services in a way that was "unimaginable" may be even a few years ago.

"I think both our governments have demonstrated that you need bold reforms that you can actually leverage technology to deliver public services in a way that was unimaginable maybe a few years ago," he said.

The level of investment taking place in Greece, both by domestic and foreign investors, is reaching a record high, he said, adding that 2023 was again a record year for foreign direct investment that "I expect we will be able to overshoot that target again in 2024".

Konstantinos Fragkogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness of Greece, said "to further strengthen our economic relations, we should capitalise on the unique advantages of India and Greece".

He added that both nations have specific areas of interests, primarily in diversifying sources, routes, and supplies, as well as developing regional interconnections to improve energy security.

Bilateral engagements with India with a focus on sectors like artificial intelligence, culture, science and technology, tourism and energy are the top priorities of the government, Fragkogiannis said.

An initial pact was signed between Ficci and Enterprise Greece at the event while another was inked between Ficci and Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The India-Greece Business Forum was jointly organised by Ficci and Enterprise Greece, which is the investment and trade promotion agency of Greece.