Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi to embark on 4-day visit to Greece, hold talks with Greek counterpart

Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi (Courtesy: PTI photo)

Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi's four-day visit to Greece, beginning tomorrow, is another sign that the strategic partnership between New Delhi and Athens is flourishing. The first indication that India and Greece would join hands was the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Athens in August 2023 followed by his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to New Delhi in February this year.

Two major meetings followed: the first in February this year, between NSA Ajit Doval and his Greek counterpart Thanos Dokos in New Delhi. It was followed by the one between General Dimitrios Choupis, the Greek chief of defence staff, and CDS General Anil Chauhan, also in Delhi.

This set the stage for the big breakthrough - the two defence ministries had the first joint working group meeting (at joint secretary level) on defence cooperation in July. Both countries wanted closer cooperation between the armed forces. As a result, four Indian Air Force fighters landed in Greece for exercises and a warship, the INS Tabar, was in Crete, a Greek island earlier this month.

During his visit, Admiral Tripathi will hold meetings with the Greek navy chief, a vice-admiral and the chief of defence staff, a four-star general.

India and Greece have ties that go back hundreds of years, perhaps more, but the recent decision for a strategic partnership is a reflection of today's geopolitical situation. Geographically, Greece is close to the Suez Canal, which has military implications. Greece can play a major role when it comes to the entry of Indian industry into the European Union. Besides, there is the IMEEC or the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, decided upon during the last G20 meeting in India: Greece will play a major role in it.

Cooperation between the two armed forces can be mutually beneficial. The Hellenic Air Force has the F-16, which Pakistan has and the Mirage-2000 and the Rafale, currently with India. There is some talk of going jointly to Dassault when it comes to maintenance and perhaps, even purchases. It could be easier and bring economies of scale is one argument. While both Greece and Turkey are part of NATO, the military alliance led by the United States, Ankara and Athens don't agree on all issues. And one major arms supplier to Pakistan, particularly naval weaponry including corvettes, is Turkey. All this is a clear sign that the visit by Admiral Tripathi is only the beginning. The ties between the two nations will only strengthen in the future.