India and Greece: Rediscovering a Civilizational Kinship and Building a Strategic Partnership in 2025

By Professor Vasileios Syros

In the evolving landscape of international diplomacy, India-Greece relations are witnessing a transformative revival. What was once a relationship rooted in ancient civilizational contact is now being reimagined through a modern lens of strategic partnership, defence cooperation, and geo-economic connectivity.

PM Modi and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis interactions reflect a clear and firm political will to enhance India-Greece diplomatic relations

A Rising Strategic Priority for India in the EU

Over the last two years, India and Greece have accelerated efforts to deepen ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Athens in August 2023 and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ return visit to India in February 2024 reflect a clear and firm political will to enhance India-Greece diplomatic relations. Greece’s geographic positioning makes it an ideal partner in India’s quest for entry into European markets, while its EU and NATO membership adds to its appeal in New Delhi’s foreign policy calculations.

Moreover, Greece's world-class maritime infrastructure and one of the largest merchant fleets globally align with India’s maritime ambitions, including its target of expanding its commercial fleet by 1,000 vessels in the coming decade—making India-Greece maritime cooperation a key strategic priority.

Civilizational Bonds as a Foundation for Modern Diplomacy

The India-Greece civilizational ties date back to antiquity, from the era of Alexander to the works of the Greek Indologist Dimitrios Galanos. Yet, these historical linkages are underutilized. Greek perceptions of India often remain confined to Bollywood and chai, while few Indians are familiar with Greek culture beyond mythology.

Creating a Greek Cultural Centre in New Delhi, potentially named after Galanos or Megasthenes, would help bridge this gap and strengthen Indo-Greek cultural exchanges. Institutions like JNU's Greek Chair can serve as vital platforms for academic and linguistic collaboration.

From Culture to Strategy: A Realignment of Priorities

While civilizational connections are essential, a robust India-Greece strategic partnership requires more than cultural nostalgia. Defence, cybersecurity, and intelligence cooperation have come to the forefront. Recent visits by national security officials and intelligence chiefs from both nations underscore the growing trust and shared concerns, particularly around counterterrorism and maritime security.

Joint efforts between Greece, India, Israel, and Cyprus to thwart terror plots involving Pakistani nationals signal a need for closer coordination. Establishing a joint security observatory could institutionalize India-Greece security collaboration.

Economic and Trade Ties Need a Push

Despite the diplomatic momentum, India-Greece trade ties remain modest. To remedy this, both sides should prioritize the creation of bilateral trade forums, empower Greek commercial missions in India, and fully utilize the new Greek consulates in Mumbai and Bangalore to attract Indian investors.

Greece can play a crucial role in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). However, outdated infrastructure—particularly in the Greek railway system—poses a challenge to realizing this vision. Unless Greece upgrades its transport networks, its ports like Piraeus, Kavala, and Alexandroupoli may fall short of expectations as gateways for India-EU trade.

Russia and the Broader Diplomatic Balance

India’s relationship with Russia need not be a barrier to its engagement with Greece or the EU. Rather, India can function as a strategic interlocutor. As Greece reassesses its position in global diplomacy, the India-Greece relationship could serve as a model for how historical ties and modern strategic interests can coexist and complement each other.

A Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century

The India-Greece partnership in 2025 is at a crucial juncture. From maritime collaboration and defence cooperation to cultural diplomacy and economic alignment, the opportunities are vast—if both sides are willing to commit to a sustained, visionary strategy. In an era of realignment, India and Greece have the potential to become vital partners not only for each other but also for global peace and stability.

Author of this opinion piece, Prof. Vasileios Syros is an academic and policy expert specializing in comparative political theory, Mediterranean-Asian relations, and geopolitical strategy. (The views expressed are personal).

About Professor Vasileios Syros

Prof. Syros is a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Military History and Conflict Studies at the United Service Institution of India, and an Honorary Adjunct Fellow at the National Maritime Foundation. He is a Life Member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, and holds a concurrent appointment as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for European Global Studies at the University of Basel (Switzerland). He is a former Greek Chair Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University.