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India – Greece Relations Basic Facts About the Country Name and Capital of the Country: Hellenic Republic, Athens Provinces/Ad

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India – Greece Relations Basic Facts About the Country Name and Capital of the Country: Hellenic Republic, Athens Provinces/Ad 1 India – Greece relations Basic facts about the country Name and capital of the country: Hellenic Republic, Athens Provinces/Administrative Divisions : 13 regions and 1 autonomous region –Agion Oros (Mt. Athos). Population: 11.295 million (as on 01 Jan 2010 - Eurostat estimate) Currency: Euro Language spoken : Greek Time : 3½ hours behind IST in winter; 2½ hours in summer Head of State: Mr. Karolos Papoulias Head of Government: Mr. Antonis Samaras Foreign Minister: Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos Basic foreign policy Greece’s foreign policy is based on : (a) close political and economic relations with the neighbouring countries, (b) participation in the European Union and other international organisations such as NATO, UN, WEU, OSCE and, (c) protection of the rights of the people of Greek-origin abroad, which is estimated at 8 million. Greek policy orientation is based on the European model and endeavours to integrate itself in European foreign, security and economic policies. It has been a member of the European Union since 1981 and has managed to derive both moral and material support from the European countries. Significant economic activities The three pillars of the Greek economy are shipping, tourism and agriculture. Greece up to 2008 enjoyed fairly strong growth, outperforming most EU countries. The Greek economy grew at an average annual rate of 4.0% in the run up to the 2004 Athens Olympics and thereafter till 2007, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure upgrades. The GDP growth rate in 2008 was 2%, but in 2009 it was -2%. Facing unsustainable interest rates on the international bond markets, Greece requested a joint lending facility. In May 2010 EU, ECB and IMF jointly approved a rescue package of €110 billion loan to Greece over a period of three years. Three instalments have been released in 2010 and three in 2011 under close scrutiny and strict implementation of financial structural reforms. As the bailout package agreed earlier was not adequate to solve the economic crisis a second bailout package for Euro 130 billion was agreed by its international creditors in October 2011. The Budget deficit in 2011, after severe austerity measures taken by the government, was more than 10% of GDP and it shrank by 6.8%. Unemployment rate reached a new record 21.7% in February 2012. Sixth instalment of the first bailout loan was released in December 2011 after all the coalition partners in the interim government gave written assurance to its international creditors that they would abide by the current austerity measures to achieve its fiscal targets and to reduce the deficit from 10.6% of GDP in 2011 to 2.6% in 2014. The Mid Term Fiscal Programme includes a € 50 billion privatization programme for 2011-15, reduction in public sector employees, revision of salary structure, cut in pensions and additional taxes. International creditors were keen to see structural reforms and to stimulate the Greek economy. A snap general election was held on 6 May followed by another election on 17 June as no political 2 party was able to form a government on their own. The conservative New Democracy (ND) party with 29.66% of the votes won the election and Antonis Samaras was sworn in as the new Prime Minister. The new government is likely to seek to extension of the period of the repayment of bailout pacakge by 2 years up till 2016 and some other concessions. Agriculture Agriculture is a significant sector of the Greek economy and the country is almost self- sufficient in food with the exception of meat and dairy products. Tourism Greece ranks among the top tourism destinations in the world. Tourism accounts for 16% of the GDP and 17% of the country’s employment. Shipping Shipping is traditionally one of the most important sources of income and foreign exchange for the country. In 2011, Greek ship-owners increased their share of global commercial fleet to 16.17% from 15.96% in 2010. Global trade & investment The countries of the EU and the US are Greece’s traditional trade and investment partners. In recent years, China has emerged as a leading source of imports and foreign investment. Japan and Republic of Korea are also important trading partners. In terms of outward investment, since early-1990s, Greeks have made their presence in the neighboring countries of the Balkans and the Eastern Europe in the sectors of banking, food industry, telecom and defence systems. Total imports and exports Total Imports to Greece: US $ 60.17 billion (2011) Major import sources: Germany, Italy, China, South Korea & France Total Exports from Greece: US $ 31.22 billion (2011) Major export destinations: Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria & USA Bilateral Relations India and Greece established diplomatic relations in May 1950. India opened its resident Embassy in Athens in March 1978. Interaction between India and Greece goes back to antiquity. In modern times, the two countries have developed a warm relationship based on a common commitment to democracy, peace and development in the world and to a social system imbued with principles of justice and equality. India and Greece also share common approaches to many international issues, such as UN reforms and Cyprus. Greece has been consistently supporting of India’s core foreign policy objectives. Bilateral trade 3 (All figures are in US$ million) Year India’s Exports India’s Imports Total Trade 2008-09 878.43 69.49 947.92 2009-2010* 452.80 154.13 606.93 2010-2011* 358.84 93.39 452.23 2011-12* (Apr- 388.98 72.99 461.97 Sept.) (Source: Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce, Government of India) Trade statistics available from Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) for the year 2010 and 2011 indicates that situation is improving: (all figures in million US$) 2010 2011 % change India’s export to 576.9 758.3 31.4 Greece India’s import from 81.7 74.5 -8.5 Greece The main items of Greece’s exports to India are machinery, rubber and plastic products, cotton, copper products, iron and steel products and chemicals. The main items of India’s exports are machinery, automobiles and auto parts, iron and steel, aluminium, copper, dyes and chemicals, and textiles and garments. Air links There is no direct air link between India and Greece. Athens can be reached via Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Doha, Bahrain, Amman and several cities in Europe. ********** July 2012 .
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