By: JurmoloyaRava
On Monday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said that his country fully supports India for the membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a new balance of power is emerging in the world.
India and Greece agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas including trade, maritime security and energy and inked a pact for launching the first direct flight service between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias held extensive talks covering the entire expanse of bilateral relations besides delving into major regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
He noted that the old powers are declining while a new balance of power is emerging with countries like India and China. “It is a transformation time and difficult time with forces of fundamentalism and terrorism trying to destabilise the world”, he added.
He said, “For countries like India, it is, in fact, a coming back into top economies of the world, as it used to share a dominant part of the GDP before colonisation – nearly one-third of the world GDP”.
“Greece and India could play a specific role in the stabilisation of the West Asia and also the eastern Mediterranean region. Greece is working with the policy of five lines of stabilisation in the region, with special focus on Egypt, Israel and Jordan to achieve it”, he later added.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the discussions covered all aspects of the bilateral relations and that the two leaders reaffirmed commitment to further expand cooperation in mutually beneficial spheres.
Strengthening cooperation with a long standing partner. EAM @SushmaSwaraj welcomes Mr. Nikos Kotzias, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece in New Delhi. India and Greece enjoy traditional ties which go back to antiquity. pic.twitter.com/ceEqNMHMrS
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) November 27, 2017
ORF Chairman Sunjoy Joshi said India and Greece should work together to face the challenges of the times, like extremism, terrorism, and anti-globalisation forces.
He also mentioned about the increasing prospects of economic cooperation between the countries, especially after the economic reforms introduced by the Indian Prime Minister which has considerably improved doing business in India. “We both stand to benefit as the new financial year begins,” he said
[TheChamp-Sharing]
