Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the visit of Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to India reflects strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

In a joint press statement after holding bilateral and delegation level talks here with his Greek counterpart, Modi said that both countries have agreed to double their bilateral trade by 2030.

The Prime Minister said that the growing cooperation in defence and security sectors reflects deep mutual trust between the two nations. With the setting up of a working group, the two countries will be able to meet challenges in cyber security, counter-terrorism and maritime security in a coordinated manner.

Mr Modi said, “I am happy to welcome PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his delegation to India. After my visit to Greece last year, his visit to India is a symbol of the strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries. The visit of the Greek PM to India after 16 years is a historic occasion.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were present in the delegation level talks.

Teming his discussions with Mr Mitsotakis “meaningful and useful,” Mr Modi expressed happiness that India and Greece are taking steps to implement the agreements on trade reached in this area in 2023.

PM Modi said new opportunities were explored during his meeting ranging from agriculture, pharma, medical devices, technologies, innovation, skill development, and space.

He said shipping and connectivity are the highest priority areas and he had discussed increasing cooperation in these areas with the Greek PM. Mr Modi noted that India and Greece have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism.

The Prime Minister said “We also discussed connecting the start-ups of both countries. Shipping and connectivity are topics of high priority for both the countries. We also discussed increasing cooperation in these areas.”

He said, “New opportunities for co-production and co-development are being created in defence manufacturing in India, which can be beneficial for both the countries. We have agreed to connect the defence industries of both the countries.”

India and Greece have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism, he said. The two sides discussed in detail how to further strengthen cooperation in this area.

He said “as two ancient and great civilizations, India and Greece have a long history of deep cultural and people-to-people ties. For almost two and a half thousand years, people of both countries have had trade and cultural relations and exchanged ideas.”

“Today we identified several new initiatives to give a modern form to these relations. We discussed concluding the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between the two countries as soon as possible. This will further strengthen our people-to-people relations,” PM Modi said.