Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias to meet with the Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Athens, 26 June 2021)

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, will have a meeting tomorrow, Saturday, June 26 at 10:15, with the Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is arriving in Athens today and will attend a dinner hosted by FM Dendias tonight.

This is the first exchange of visits between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in 18 years, opening up new perspectives for the consolidation and upgrading of relations between Greece and India in a number of areas of common interest.

During tomorrow’s meeting at the Foreign Ministry, the private and then expanded talks are expected to focus on promoting dialogue and enhancing cooperation between the two countries at all levels.

Bilaterally, special emphasis is expected to be placed, inter alia, on the economic sector, including energy cooperation, and in particular on renewable sources such as solar energy. Greece will join the International Solar Alliance, an Indian initiative, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias signing the framework agreement.

On the multilateral level, as both Greece and India support the need for full respect of International Law, including International Law of the Sea, prospects for enhancing cooperation within international organizations – including the UN, where India is a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2021-2022 term – are expected to be discussed in more detail.

International and regional developments, both in the wider region of the Indian Ocean and in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Cyprus issue and Turkey, as well as prospects for multilateral partnerships cooperation schemes will also be discussed.

Statements to the press will follow (at about 12:00).

Later in the day, at about 19.30, the two Foreign Ministers will attend the unveiling of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi near the Embassy of India in Athens.