India and Greece agree to give a boost to defence industries along with military ties
Athens: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today conferred with ‘The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour’ by the President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
The citation said: “In the person of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an honour is bestowed upon the friendly people of India.”
It also said, “On the occasion of this visit, the Greek State Honours the Prime Minister of India, a statesman who has tirelessly promoted the global reach of his country and who works systematically for India’s economic progress and prosperity, bringing about bold reforms. A statesman who has brought environmental protection and climate change among the top priorities of international activity.”
The Prime Minister thanked President Sakellaropoulou, the government and the people of Greece for the honour. His is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece after a gap of 40 years. He stated, “I accepted the award on behalf of 140 crore Indians and expressed my gratitude”.
The Order of Honour was established in 1975. The head of the goddess Athena is depicted on the front side of the Star with the inscription “ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS SHOULD BE HONOURED”.
Later, in a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Modi disclosed their decision to take the India-Greece partnership to a “strategic” level.
“We have decided that we will strengthen our strategic partnership by expanding our cooperation in the fields of defence and security, infrastructure, agriculture, education, new and emerging technology, and skill development,” he elaborated.
Explaining further, Modi said both India and Greece agreed to give a boost to defence industries along with military ties. Both also discussed topics of terrorism and cyber security and decided to set up an institutional platform for dialogue at the level of the National Security Advisors of both countries.
Noting that the bilateral trade was “rapidly growing and has immense potential for further growth”, both Prime Ministers today set a target to double our bilateral trade by the year 2030.
“We believe that by encouraging trade and investment between our countries we can take our industrial and economic cooperation to a new level,” Modi said and informed that today an agreement was also signed for cooperation in the agriculture sector. “With this agreement, not only can we cooperate in agriculture and seed production but also in the fields of research, animal husbandry, and livestock production,” he said.
In order to facilitate skilled migration between the two countries, both countries today further decided to enter into a migration and mobility partnership agreement soon. “We believe that to give a new shape to our ancient people-to-people relations, we should increase cooperation,” Modi said.
Both India and Greece also agreed to promote cultural and academic exchanges between their educational institutions.
Greece also expressed its support for the India-EU trade and investment agreement.
While both countries said they supported diplomacy and dialogue in the case of Ukraine, Modi also thanked Greece for its cooperation in the United Nations and other international forums.
“I am grateful to Mr. Prime Minister for his good wishes and encouragement regarding India’s G20 Presidency,” Modi said. he also expressed condolences for the loss of lives in the tragic incidents of forest fires in Greece. “We wish for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
– global bihari bureau
