Greece has launched its 2024 economic diplomacy program with business missions to India, Serbia and Turkey, underscoring the country’s ongoing extroversion strategy that has helped boost exports to historic highs and bring in record foreign investment.

In the first two months of the year, Greek trade delegations – including two led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – visited the cities of Belgrade, Istanbul, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. While further business missions this year are scheduled for Germany, the Baltics, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Libya and Canada.

“These actions contribute substantially to the long-term growth trajectory that the country has now entered,” writes Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis in To Vima newspaper. The missions are “supporting and encouraging Greek entrepreneurship to spread its wings and pushing the Greek economy to become more productive and competitive, for the benefit of all.”

The five-day visit to India – the world’s most populous nation and fastest growing major economy – comes as part of an ever deepening commercial and strategic relationship with Greece. Over the past three years, bilateral trade between Greece and India has doubled to more than €1 billion per year. India-based GMR Group is currently building a new €1.2 billion airport on Crete – the largest ever investment by an Indian company in Greece. And this month’s trade mission to India included some 60 Greek companies and business associations – as well as plans for some 500 B2B meetings − representing the broad interest in the Indian market.

There has also been growing military cooperation between the two countries and, in August last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Athens – the first such visit by an Indian prime minister in 40 years. Both countries also attach importance to strengthening European Union–India relations, with the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor a potential springboard for much closer economic cooperation between India and Greece in the years to come.