ATHENS: Beginning his official engagements during a day-long official visit to Greece, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Athens on Friday.
Prime Minister Modi also received a guard of honour following the wreath-laying ceremony.
PM Modi on Friday arrived in Greece for his maiden visit at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. At the Athens International Airport, PM Modi was received by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.
He received a rousing welcome upon his arrival at the Hotel Grande Bretagne with the Indian Community gathered at the hotel breaking out into chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai,’ ‘Modi, Modi.’
The members of the Indian Community were ween waiving the tricolour and some of them were also beating drums to mark PM Modi’s visit, the first Indian Prime Minister in the last 40 years to visit the country.
At the hotel, PM Modi interacted with children and their parents. A little girl offered PM Modi a Greek headdress and she also briefly interacted with him showing him a painting she had prepared. The young girl also took a selfie with the Prime Minister.
PM Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister in the last 40 years to visit Greece. The last Prime Ministerial visit from India to Greece was in 1983. Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had visited New Delhi in 2019.
PM Modi will meet his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leaders will discuss ways to further deepen the ties between the two nations. He will also interact with business leaders from both countries. He will also have an interaction with the Indian community in Greece.
Prime Minister Modi had met the Greek Prime Minister in New York last in September 2019 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
India and Greece enjoy civilizational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties. (ANI)