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ISSN: 2732-799X GREEK-INDIAN ECONOMIC FORUM Spring 2021 No. l “This is my first visit to Europe since becoming President of India in July 2017. It is appropriate that the visit has brought me to Greece because geogra- phically and historically your country has been India’s gateway to Europe.” Shree Ram Nath Kovind 1821 - 2021: 200 Years of Greek Independence 1947 - 2022: 75 Years of India’s Independence Greek Indian Economic Forum Spring 2021, No 1 भारत का राजदूत, एथᴂस AMBASSADOR OF INDIA, ATHENS MESSAGE I am happy to know that the Greek-Indian are being supplied to the World Health Organisa- Business Association (GIBA) is bringing out the first tion (WHO) and to more than 70 countries. issue of its online Newsletter in English this year India and Greece can collaborate in various which marks the bicentennial celebrations of the sectors, such as shipping, ports and infrastructure, 1821 Greek Revolution as well as commencement renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, space cooper- of celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence, ation, defence, agriculture, leisure and tourism, to which began in March 2021 and will culminate in name a few. We expect the 8th India-Greece Joint August 2023. Commission meeting be held as soon as possible, GIBA, established in 2019, is working towards where such areas of cooperation and others, such as, promoting the development of Greek Indian eco- information technology could be discussed. nomic relations. It is heartening to note that Greece is becom- Both, India and Greece, are ancient civilizations ing a country where people from India would like and modem democracies. Greece is where the idea to visit. In 2019, 80,000 tourists visited Greece from of democracy originated, and India happens to be India, which was double the number compared the world’s largest democracy. Interaction between to the previous year when 40,000 persons visited India and Greece goes back to antiquity. Both the as tourists. In 2020, it was expected that numbers countries have developed a warm relationship based would increase further, but for the situation created on a common commitment to democracy, peace by Covid-19. and development in the world and to a social system India is also one of the popular tourist destina- imbued with principles of justice and equality. tions in Asia, a 365 days destination - with rich her- The trade and economic relations between the itage and culture, adventure tourism, wildlife and two countries, which are still below potential, are backwaters, shopping and cuisine, a hub of Medi- growing steadily. India participated in the 84th Thes- cal and Wellness Tourism, Yoga and Naturopathy saloniki International Fair (TIF) 2019 as the ‘Hon- centers and Ayurveda healing solutions - all these oured Country’. In the Food Expo 2020 which was make India an ideal destination for vacations. scheduled to be held in March 2020 in Athens, but Given profound appreciation of each other’s could not take place due to lockdown restrictions, ancient cultural heritage, art, philosophy and intrin- India was to participate as the ‘Honoured Country’ sic values, the people-to-people linkages through again. Pandemic has affected the progress in eco- tourism, promotion of shooting of Indian films in nomic and commercial relations since then. We look Greece, greater academic and scientific exchang- forward to the situation stabilising for renewed ex- es would also augment our outreach in the coming changes and activities. In the meantime, within con- years having spin offs in commercial sector. straints; will continue to strive to strengthen eco- I, once again, take this opportunity to extend nomic and commercial relations between the two our best wishes and support to GIBA in its future countries. GIBA can playa good role in this. endeavours and wish well for the health and pros- India has emerged as the ‘Pharmacy of the perity of the people of both the countries. World’, a reliable stakeholder in global healthcare supply chains with major strengths in manufactur- Amrit Lugun ing, research and development (R&D) and innova- Ambassador of India to the Hellenic Republic tion. Vaccines manufactured in India for Covid-19 2 Greek Indian Economic Forum Spring 2021, No 1 Editorial Greece – India’s Gateway to Europe This is the first issue of GIBA’s Economic Forum the Europeans in the beginning of the 15th centu- which aims to provide information about the latest ry when the ship of the Portuguese sailor Vasco da trends and developments in the Greek and Indian Gama landed in South India. The Portuguese domi- economies as well as various activities and initiatives nated the European Indian trade for a century until of the Greek Indian Business Association (GIBA) the British East India Company pushed them out of and its members. the Indian sub-continent and left them only one set- India, the second most populous country in the tlement in Goa, which became part of the independ- world with a vibrant and expanding market, is ex- ent India in 1961. pected to be the world’s 3rd largest economy by 2030 Greek merchants began to settle again in India in the providing a wide range of economic opportunities. beginning of the 18th century and formed a trade This inevitably leads to a call for a broader co-op- community in Bengal, which flourished for almost eration and partnership with foreign companies. three centuries. The Greek traders supported finan- Greece which has long lasting cultural and econom- cially the struggle for the liberation of their moth- ic relations with India for more than 2500 years is erland from the Ottoman rule. Dimitrios Galanos, destined to play a significant role in this develop- a teacher, who was sent to educate the children of ment by becoming once again the gateway of India this community, was destined to become one of the to Europe and East Mediterranean. most outstanding European Indologists as he trans- Historical relations between Greece and India go lated several Sanskrit texts into Greek and wrote a back to the pre-Alexandrian times when the Ioni- Sanskrit-English-Greek Dictionary. Today the phil- an Greeks (Yonas or Yavanas) met with the Indians anthropic society of the Greek Orthodox Church in the courts of the Persian Emperors in Persepo- continues to serve the Bengali community in Kolka- lis. Skylax, Hekataeus, Ctesias and Herodotus were ta and West Bengal. the first Europeans to write works about India. At Indian soldiers fought in Greece on the side of the the same time, Panini and Gautama Buddha were allied forces during the First and Second World the first Indians to mention the Greeks in their dis- Wars and hundreds of them died in this land. Today courses. the heroes’ tombs in the Indian cemeteries in Thes- The relations between the two nations were inten- saloniki, Limnos and Athens remind the younger sified after the arrival of Alexander the Great in -In generations their supreme sacrifice for the Freedom dia. The descendants of his army, who formed the and Democracy of the Western World. Indo-Greek kingdoms, ruled Bactria and North- The ties between the two countries were renewed west India for almost 3 centuries, and finally merged after India’s independence and the established of into the Indian society making a great contribution diplomatic relations in May 1950. India and Greece in several fields, like medicines, sculptures, philos- shared common approaches to many international ophy, astrology, numismatics, architecture, etc. Me- issues. Greece consistently supported India’s foreign gasthenes, who was the first foreign ambassador in policies and its bid for permanent UNSC member- the court of Chandragupta Mauryan, is considered ship, while India has supported the UN resolutions by many to be the father of the Indian history, while to end the occupation of Northern Cyprus. King Menander seems to have supported Buddhism The friendly relations between the two countries to such an extent that his discourses have been in- seem to be gaining a new momentum in recent years, cluded in its sacred books. The Great Mauryan Em- especially after the meetings of PΜ Kyriakos Mitso- peror Ashoka, who might have been partially Greek, takis with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi wrote inscriptions in the Greek language and sent on the sidelines of UNGA, the online talks of the his ambassadors to the Greek kingdoms. Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias and Subrahman- Trade between the Hellenistic kingdoms and India yam Jaishankar, and the recent felicitations letter of continued for many centuries mostly via the Red the President of India to the Greek President Ms. Sea as the Greeks had a long tradition in shipping. Katerina Sakelaropoulou for the completion of 200 However, the expansion of Islam in Arabia and Cen- years since the beginning of the liberation struggle tral Asia put an end to the trade exchange for sev- of modern Greece. → eral centuries. India was rediscovered once again by 3 Greek Indian Economic Forum Spring 2021, No 1 GIBA Partners Chennai, Mumbai Katmandhu, Nepal All Handicrafts & Home Furnishing Development Association. New Delhi & Bhopal Bamgalore, Karnataka 4 Greek Indian Economic Forum Spring 2021, No 1 Editorial In the areas of culture and education, the Indian to mark the beginning of their collaboration on sev- Society for Greek and Roman Studies, the Chair for eral economic and cultural fields: Greek studies at JNU and the IGNCA have organ- • the Indian Chamber of International Business ized major Indo-Greek events in India. Several cul- (ICIB) in Chennai and Mumbai; tural centers are also working on the Indian culture in Greece. The Hellenic Indian Society for Culture • the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) in and Development (ELINEPA) organised many ed- Kathmandu; ucational courses and cultural events including two • the All Handicrafts & Home Furnishing Devel- international seminars, one – on Jainism and the opment Association (AHHDA) in New Delhi other – on the Hindi language.

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