India-Greece to link defence industries; focus on co-production & co-development

India and Greece on Wednesday agreed to work towards co-production and co-development of defence items and decided to firm up a mobility and migration pact in near future as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis held extensive talks to impart “new energy” to the bilateral ties.

Talking to the press after the talks, Modi said the two sides have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism and there was a discussion in detail on how to further strengthen cooperation in this area.

He said the growing India-Greece cooperation in defence and security reflects the “deep mutual trust”.


“With the formation of a working group in this area, we will be able to increase mutual coordination on common challenges like defence, cyber security, counter-terrorism, maritime security,” he said, adding, “New opportunities for co-production and co-development are being created in defense manufacturing in India, which can be beneficial for both the countries.”

He said it was agreed to link the defence industries of both the countries.

Modi said he and Mitsotakis discussed many regional and international issues and it was agreed that all disputes and tensions should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

India welcomes Greece’s active participation and positive role in the Indo-Pacific and it is a matter of happiness that the European nation has decided to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, he said.

India-Greece relations were elevated to ‘strategic partnership’ during Modi’s visit to Greece in August last year.

The two PMs also decided to increase cooperation in areas including pharma, medical devices, technology, innovation, skill development, agriculture and space.

“Our discussions today were very meaningful and useful. It is a matter of happiness that we are rapidly moving towards the goal of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. We identified several new opportunities to give new energy and direction to our cooperation,” Modi said.

“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,” he said.

The pact would provide employment opportunities for Indians in Greece besides easing flow of students and business people between the two countries.

Later inaugurating the Raisina Dialogue the Greek PM stated that India is a leading democracy of global South and it is a consensus builder.