Greece is uniquely placed as a connecter between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Mitsotakis says
Greece is India’s natural doorstep to Europe and beyond, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue 2024 in New Delhi on Wednesday.
 
The Greek Prime Minister referred to the India-Middle East Europe Corridor (IMEC), saying that Greece sat right in the middle of it.  Greece is uniquely placed as a connecter between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said, adding that this presented a lot of opportunities for the two countries.
 
The emergence of ground-breaking projects like IMEC hold great promise to super-charge connectivity between India, the growth economies of the Middle East, and Europe, he pointed out. “One has just to look at the map to realise that Greece is sitting right at the centre of this new corridor,” the Greek PM said, adding, “We are your natural doorstep to Europe and beyond”.
 
Raisina Dialogues 2024, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics.
 
In his address, Prime Minister Mitsotakis noted that both India and Greece had demonstrated the power of innovative approaches to development and leveraged digital technologies. A confident Greece can serve as a gateway for India’s investments and trade, he remarked.
 
According to PM Mitsotakis, India and Greece’s strength of partnership is bound by economic, cultural and philosophical ties forged a millennia ago. He went on to describe it as a partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies.
 
Describing 2024 as a year of great geopolitical importance, he said more than half of the world’s population would go to the polls in as many as 64 countries and the European Union (EU). These elections would determine the path of the foreseeable future, he remarked.
 
In this context, he referred to the upcoming elections in India and said, “You are an example that needs to be celebrated. A demonstration of how democracy can deliver strong economic growth, this has been your record for a decade now, and also deliver prosperity that brings social cohesion”.
 
The theme of Raisina Dialogue 2024, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”.
 
Over the course of three days, decision makers and thought leaders of the world will engage each other across conversations in various formats, over six thematic pillars: (i) Tech Frontiers: Regulations & Realities; (ii) Peace with the Planet: Invest & Innovate; (iii) War & Peace: Armouries & Asymmetries; (iv) Decolonising Multilateralism: Institutions & Inclusion; (v) The Post 2030 Agenda: People & Progress; and (vi) Defending Democracy: Society & Sovereignty.