India, Greece pledge closer ties after meeting of premiers

India and Greece pledged to deepen ties in areas including trade and defence after the first visit by an Indian premier to the southern European nation in four decades.

"Today, the prime minister and I have taken the decision to take the India-Greece partnership to a strategic level," India's Narendra Modi said Friday after talks with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in Athens.

The two countries aim to boost cooperation in defense, security, infrastructure, agriculture, education, technology and skills development to strengthen their strategic partnership, Modi added.

Modi's visit was the first by an Indian premier to Greece in 40 years, Mitsotakis said, citing a wide range of joint interests. There is potential for bilateral trade to double in coming years, the two leaders agreed. In 2022, the volume was 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion), 58% higher than the same period a year earlier.

India and Greece are also considering establishing direct flights between the two nations, Mitsotakis said.

"We discussed how important it would be to have a direct air connection," the Greek premier told reporters, adding that his country is Europe's eastern gateway and India can take advantage of that.