India-Greece: Ancient Civilisations Upgrade Ties to Strategic Partnership

Describing India and Greece relationship a “natural reunion”, PM Modi has heralded a new beginning by reviving the ties between the two ancient civilisations that trace close linkages to antiquity. On his epochal one-day visit to Greece Johannesburg BRICS summit on August 25, 2023, PM Modi along with his counterpart Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis upgraded the bilateral ties to strategic partnership. PM Modi’s visit to Greece, the first by an Indian Prime Minister coming after a gap of 40 years has reenergised the traditional relationship strengthened by trade and cultural ties.

Though there have been regular high-level bilateral visits between both countries. A prime ministerial visit was conspicuous by its absence. The last Greek Prime Minister to visit India was Andreas Papandreou as the Republic Day guest in 1986. He visited India thrice- the first time for the funeral of Indira Gandhi in 1984 followed by a quick visit in 1985 to attend a nuclear disarmament summit. The last official Indian Prime Minister to Greece was in 1983 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In recent times Presidents- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (2007) and Ramnath Kovind (2018) visited Greece.

India’s tryst with Greece picked up pace following Turkey’s anti-India propaganda in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Aligning with Pakistan, Turkey supported Islamabad’s attempts to rake up the Kashmir issue at various multilateral forums. Concurrently, the massive reconfigurations of geopolitical relations in the Eastern Mediterranean region resulted in the shaping of the Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan axis often referred to as “Three Brothers”. In 2020, Azerbaijan occupied Nagorno-Karabakh defeating Armenia with Turkish military assistance. Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drones singularly turned the battle in its favour by decimating Armenia’s weapon systems.

Around the same time, an Italian company announced the discovery of 3.5 trillion cubic metres of oil reserves in the Aegean Sea of the East Mediterranean region. This has intensified the already existing hostilities between Greece and Turkey over the islands in the region. Militarisation of the islands in violation of the treaty agreements, drilling activities in the contentious regions and airspace violations have roiled the already testy Greco-Turkish relations. The disagreements over maritime boundaries, overlapping claims to their continental shelves and the Cyprus dispute furthered deepened the chasms between Greece and Turkey.

Azerbaijan aligns with Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir and Armenia which spars with Azerbaijan hasn’t established diplomatic ties with Turkey. Armenia unequivocally extended support to India on Kashmir and made $250 million in defence purchases from India which includes the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL). To snuff out Pakistan’s attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue and whittle the larger plans of Turkey to host and support the hostile anti-India elements, India has upped its game.

Shedding its passivity and diffidence, India took a plunge into the region’s geopolitical minefield. In a first in 18 years, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited Greece in 2021 to welcome Athens into the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and oversee the signing of the framework. The following year, Greece Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on his visit to India announced the plans of a trilateral between India, Greece and UAE¹ and reiterated Greece’s capacity as an EU-member country to act as a bridge between India and the EU.

To rein in Turkey’s expansionist ambitions that seek to completely annex Turkish Cypriot and some of the Greek islands, Greece has forged strategic cooperation with UAE in 2020 and with France in 2021. Both these countries are close strategic partners of India. Greece supports India on Kashmir, deems it as an internal issue of India and resonates with India’s concerns. India supports Greece's stance on Cyprus. In 2022, commemorating 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Cyprus, Jaishankar visited Nicosia and both countries signed defence cooperation. This clearly reflected India’s alignment with Greece on geopolitical issues.

Post nuclear tests in 1998 when Western countries contemplated sanctions against India, the Greek Defence Minister visited India in December 1998 and signed MoU for defence cooperation. The defence cooperation is nurtured by port calls, participation in multilateral drills, and visits by high-level defence delegations. In 2016, Greece extended support to India’s entry to the Missile Control Technology Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Agreement and Australia Group. Greece also supports India’s quest for permanent membership in the UNSC and NSG membership.

In May 2023, the Indian Air Force participated in a multinational air exercise INIOCHOS-23 hosted by the Hellenic Air Force at Andravida Air Base. Indian pilots are training with Greek’s F-16 aircraft the mainstay of Pakistan. Greek F-16s are expected to participate in India’s Tarang Shakti, India’s largest air exercise to be held in September.

India and Greece have two institutional mechanisms in place-Joint Economic Committee (JEC) and Foreign Office Consultations which began in 1992. The 13^th round of Foreign Office Consultations held in Athens in June 2023 has laid the ground for identifying and expanding the arenas of cooperation ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Greece.

PM Modi during his visit held restricted delegation-level talks with his counterpart PM Mitsotakis. Both leaders exchanged views on regional, national and global issues of common interests. The two major maritime nations, “shared their vision of a free, open and rules-based Mediterranean Sea and Indo-Pacific, in accordance with the law of the sea, in particular the provisions of the UNCLOS, and with full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and freedom of navigation to the benefit of international peace, stability and security”². This, in fact, is an indirect reference to indiscriminate and blatant violations of Turkey and China in the East Mediterranean Sea and South China Sea respectively.

Greece expressed strong support for India-EU trade and investment negotiations and the early implementation of the India-EU connectivity partnership and agreed to deepen bilateral engagements in defence, shipping, science and technology, cyberspace, education, culture, tourism and agriculture. Countries have signed a MoU on Cooperation in agriculture including the establishment of a Hellenic-Indian sub-committee on agriculture for facilitating sectoral cooperation for mutual benefit.

Countries affirmed to ensure regular dialogue in political, economic, defence, security and public diplomacy. As a first step, they have decided to establish an institutional platform for dialogue at the NSA level. To foster people-to-people ties, countries are expediting the proposal to have direct flights between India and Greece and also promote art and culture through exchanges between academic institutions. India has invited Greece to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Emerging from the throes of the economic recession, Greece is now the fastest-growing economy in the EU and seeking to explore the booming markets of India. To facilitate the free movement of the workforce, countries are contemplating the early finalisation of a Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement (MMPA). Currently, bilateral trade is hovering around $2 billion. Considering the increase in bilateral trade and economic engagement, leaders have agreed to double bilateral trade by 2030.

The convergence over maritime and military cooperation can be a stable ground over which countries can augment ties further. Greece has second second-largest shipping capacity after China and is the greatest naval power in the East Mediterranean Region. Deepening relations with Greece will have positive results for India in the Mediterranean region and it can be India’s strategic gateway to Europe. Also, Greece can play a significant role in energy security as it has abundant natural gas and oil resources.

China’s state-owned shipping company COSCO obtained rights to operate port Piraeus when Greece was grappling with an economic crisis in 2008. Steadily it acquired 51% stakes by 2016 and currently its ownership stake has increased to 67%³. This port served as China’s economic, transport and strategic entry to Europe.

As per some Greek media reports, India is believed to have expressed interest in acquiring two ports- Kavala in northern Greece and Volos, 330 km away from Athens. Another port under consideration is Alexandroupoli⁴. By establishing a strategic connectivity corridor between the Indian Ocean and the East Mediterranean, India can “radically reconfigure trade patterns”, and steadily extend its footprint in Europe and counter the expanding influence of China.

Building on the age-old historical warmth and genuine respect that are the foundation for trusted relationships, PM Modi in a joint press statement said, “I firmly believe that like the Gandhara School of Art, a beautiful amalgamation of Indian and Greco-Roman art, the friendship between India and Greece will also leave its indelible mark on the stone of time”⁵.

In recognition of his efforts to strengthen relations between India and Greece, the President of Greece Katerina N Sakellaropoulou bestowed the highest civilian honour, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Honour on PM Modi signifying the respect of the people of Greece towards India. The oldest and largest democracies share values of democracy, pluralism and the rule of law and have many areas of convergence. Aligning with the changing configurations of the global order, the countries must now work together to sustain this momentum and strategically cement the bilateral ties.

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