Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Greece on August 25, the first head-of-government to visit the European nation in 40 years, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday.
In an official release, the MEA said that PM Modi will visit Greece on August 25 at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after the conclusion of the BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
India and Greece enjoy civilisational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people relations, according to the External Affairs Ministry.
"Prime Minister will hold talks with Prime Minister Mitsotakis to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship. He will also interact with business leaders from both countries, as well as with the Indian community in Greece," said the release.
The Ministry also informed that PM Modi will visit Johannesburg in South Africa from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS Summit at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Chinese President Xi Jinping will also physically attend the meeting, as confirmed by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.
"This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit since 2019. The Summit will provide an opportunity to review progress of the initiatives launched by the grouping, and identify future areas of activity," said the MEA.
PM Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders in South Africa and will participate in a special event called 'BRICS - Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue' after the BRICS Summit.
Earlier this month, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor confirmed PM Modi's appearance in the BRICS Summit and refuted reports that he will attend it virtually.
“The Prime Minister of India has never said that he is not attending the Summit. I am in constant contact with foreign minister Jaishankar. He has never said that. Our sherpas are in touch and they have never said it. So, we have all been trying to look for this needle in a haystack that began this rumour,” Pandor said.
Reacting to a question on whether Modi had agreed to come after a phone call by President Ramaphosa, Pandor said the phone call had been in the planning for some time already for Ramaphosa to brief Modi on a number of issues as they developed. “The phone call was on our agenda. It had nothing to do with this rumour of non-attendance (by Modi),” she said.
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