India is looking for a port in Greece to connect with Mumbai

According to the former ambassador of Greece to India, the South Asian country “really wants” the port of Thessaloniki. Ioannis-Alexios Zepos, the former ambassador of Greece to India and official speaker at the Rotary Club of Athens meeting, said that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), with which the Indians are planning to make a commercial landing in Europe, ends in Greece.

According to Mr Zepos, the port of Thessaloniki has the most chances, although the privatisation regime should be clarified, which seems quite complex.

“The Indians really want the port of Thessaloniki, but it is not excluded that they will also turn to other areas of Greece,” said the former ambassador when referring to the issue of the development of the IMEC, “which may be important for the bilateral relations and India’s economic and commercial presence in Europe through Greek ports.”

In the discussion that followed Mr Zepos’s speech, he pointed out that India—which is almost certain to be the third largest economy in the world by 2030 —wishes to develop its trade relations with Europe, using Greece as a “gateway.”

In his view, India seeks to utilise Greece’s road and rail infrastructures to transport their products to every corner of Europe.

“[India] is a country from which 200 to 250 million citizens travel every year. They visit relatives in the United States and Australia and travel for tourism all over the world. Of these 250 million, consider that only 60,000 to 70,000 Indians come to Greece. Well, it’s a huge area that we’re interested in developing. Of course, a direct air connection is definitely missing. It is very important to have. And apparently, it will happen at around the end of the year.”