Greece to soon sign mobility migration agreement with India: PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Feb 22: Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is on a two-day visit to India, said an announcement will soon be made regarding mobility migration, which will enable more Indian workers to visit Greece in an organised manner.

"We expect to make concrete announcements very soon regarding the signing of the mobility migration agreement, enabling more Indian labour to come to Greece in an organised manner," the prime minister said, speaking at the FICCI's India-Greece Business Forum held in Mumbai.

"We're two ancient civilizations with great respect for each other. We have great people-to-people connections. We have a vibrant Indian community in Greece and we want to foster these connections much further," he added.

The Greece PM had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday in the national capital.

The Indian workers, who would be allowed to take part in Greece's labour market, may need to be upskilled or reskilled, PM Mitsotakis said.

Opportunities in construction, agriculture, and hospitality are immense and Greece is already beginning to see labour shortages.

Sharing anecdotes about his country's labour market scenario a decade ago, the visiting leader said they had an unemployment rate of 27 per cent.

For the first time in more than 15 years, its unemployment rate is under 10 per cent and is rapidly shrinking as a result of its growing economy.

Referring to tourism and hospitality, the Greece Prime Minister said he considers these sectors untapped.

"...this is an investment destination that can go both ways because I spoke a lot about Indian investment into Greece, but the same is also true in terms of Greek investment in India. We have prominent food companies already present here, and I see no reason why we cannot expand and tap the potential of the Indian market through our export-oriented Greek companies," he said.

On hospitality, he said there was no direct flight between Mumbai or Delhi and Greece and hoped the scenario would change soon.

"We still don't have a nonstop flight, for example, connecting either Mumbai or Delhi to Greece. I'm sure that this will change very quickly. And the same, of course, I think could also happen in terms of inbound tourism from India to Greece, where I really think that there is significant potential," he said.

He also suggested that Indian movies could be shot in his country, which has various beautiful locations.

"There are other beautiful locations where you can film in Greece," he said.

"But this is also a sector where I think we can significantly progress and do much more. And usually when big productions or blockbusters are filmed in Greece, we immediately see the tourists and the activity being generated afterwards," he noted.

The Greek PM, who is on a state visit to India, is accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation.