ATHENS – Eurobank and the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work towards the establishment of the India-Greece-Cyprus Business Council (IGC) ANA/MPA reports. The MoU was signed in the presence of the Ambassador of India Shri Rudrendra Tandon at the Indian Embassy in Athens.

The managing director of Eurobank, Fokion Karavias, “emphasized that Greece and Cyprus can be strategic entry points to the EU for Indian companies and investors,” ANA/MPA noted, adding that “he also highlighted Cyprus’ unique advantages as a dynamic technology and research hub and investment gateway to the European Union, as well as Greece’s diversified economy, which offers a wide range of investment opportunities for Indian investors.”

Karavias also “pointed out that this strategic cooperation with the ICC is just one of the many initiatives undertaken by the Eurobank Group to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between India, Greece and Cyprus. It is noted that Eurobank plans to establish a Representative Office in Mumbai, after receiving the required regulatory approvals,” according to ANA/MPA.

ICC President Ameya Prabhu conveyed, ANA/MPA writes, that “as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the IGC Business Council will lay the foundation for strong bilateral business contacts and strategic partnerships.”

The Ambassador of India, Shri Rudrendra Tandon noted that the Memorandum includes possible synergies with the economic corridor IMEC – India-Middle East-Europe. A resolution about that was adopted at the G20 summit in India and was supported at the recent G7 summit in Italy.

OEC.world reports about Greece-India:

“In 2022, Greece exported $332M to India. The main products that Greece exported to India were Refined Petroleum ($144M), Recovered Paper ($22.8M), and Scrap Aluminium ($20.5M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Greece to India have increased at an annualized rate of 18.3%, from $143M in 2017 to $332M in 2022.

“In 2020, Greece exported services to India worth $612M, with Transportation ($601M), Travel ($7.08M), and Other business services ($1.71M) being the largest in terms of value.

“India-Greece Trade: In 2022, India exported $1.07B to Greece. The main products that India exported to Greece were Raw Aluminium ($356M), Refined Petroleum ($60M), and Molluscs ($35.8M). Over the past 5 years the exports of India to Greece have increased at an annualized rate of 18.3%,  from $462M in 2017 to $1.07B in 2022.

“In 2022, India did not export any services to Greece.

“Comparison: In 2022,  Greece ranked 50 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.33), and 57 in total exports ($55.7B). That same year, India ranked 40 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.64), and 15 in total exports ($468B).

(Material from ANA/MPA and OEC.world was used in this report)