| FORWARD TO A FRIEND > | |
 |
A Passage from India [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. A meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi this week, the second such meeting in two years, underlined the growing geopolitical and economic convergence of the two countries. The central pillar of this growing strategic relationship remains the proposed India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), an ambitious project to create a new transport infrastructure network to facilitate the further connection of India’s west coast with the Gulf States and, through a land route cutting across the Middle East, Europe. Greece, due to its geographic proximity to the proposed end points of IMEC, is in a natural position to act as one of the main entry points of Indian goods into Europe. However, there are several hurdles that must be overcome to fully realise these prospects. Firstly, given that Chinese state-owned COSCO is the majority stakeholder in the port of Piraeus (the country’s largest and most sophisticated freight port), a new logistics hub is required to meet the demands of IMEC. The Greek government is actively looking to develop such alternative entry points, with the most likely candidate being the redevelopment of the port of Elefsina, located near the capital. Secondly, the implementation of infrastructure projects to improve the land connections between Greece and Europe, both rail and road, such as the Sea2Sea project, with an estimated budget of 800 million to 1 billion euros, will be required. However, just weeks after the signing of the landmark trade deal between the European Union and India, the prime minister’s visit also focused on issues of bilateral trade. One of the main goals of the visit was to increase the volume of trade between the countries, with a goal of reaching a value of five billion euros by 2030. It is not a coincidence that Mitsotakis focused on India as a market for Greek agricultural goods, including olive oil and kiwi fruits. It is worth noting that this overall alignment of Greece with India is also facilitated by the strategic partnership between India and France, a close Greek ally. At the same time, India’s traditional rival Pakistan has been cultivating closer ties to Turkey. This illustrates the potential wider geopolitical motivations behind the Greek-Indian convergence. Spotlight
|
MUST READS
|
 [InTime News]New Democracy’s internal division, which is well known but is tactfully being kept under the rug by both sides, came to the forefront last week when the Prime Minister’s main adversary within the ranks of the ruling Conservatives, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias, went public with his disapproval of the party’s direction, openly questioning its overall stance and criticising its falling poll numbers. Speaking at a regional party event, Dendias urged New Democracy to return to, what he described as its founding values ahead of the 2027 elections. “We must return to our values and principles, to what we are, to our DNA, our genetic material, so that we can once again form a government by ourselves,” he said. He also took aim at New Democracy being described as economically liberal, declaring: “We are a people’s party. Let us make this clear. We are not neoliberals, we are not the party of capital. We are what our founder Konstantinos Karamanlis made us.” There is a clear difference of opinion with respect to New Democracy’s ideological compass and the strategy it should follow. Dendias, who is widely seen as the front runner to be the next leader of New Democracy, is aiming at wooing back disaffected conservatives who have drifted to small right-wing parties, and seriously consider voting for the new party expected to be formed by the former president of the Tempi victims’ families association, Maria Karystianou. For his part, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has focused on centrist voters and in this context has brought into the government a significant number of former PASOK ministers and politicians who one would characterise as Social Democrats rather than Conservatives. The Defence Minister’s open criticism drew a swift response from the government spokesman who in an interview noted that he could not recall “any other New Democracy government being more faithful to the party’s DNA.” Still, the debate over the ideological direction of the party lingers on, and could potentially intensify. |
 The gap in terms of both the value of prospective properties between Greek and international buyers in the country’s real estate market is narrowing, as is the gap between the two groups in terms of the level of rent they are prepared to pay. According to data for 2025 available from property platform Spitogatos, foreign buyers were increasingly reluctant to pay large premiums for properties compared to domestic buyers, while their overall searches were focused on properties of not much greater value. This is particularly true when comparing the data from 2025 to that of 2024, when foreign buyers were seeking to buy properties that were 38% more expensive in the southern suburbs of Attica, 22% more expensive for Piraeus, and 16% more expensive in the western suburbs. |
|
| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,273.73 points, down 0.66% from last week.” |
| “Greece’s declining demographics continues to be a pressing issue, exacerbated by the country’s brain drain in the previous decade when almost half a million young people left the country. There is also an economic cost to this as these Greeks abroad have produced an estimated 50 billion euros and paid 13 billion euros in taxes.” |
| “Greek banks may be a prime target for takeovers by foreign institutions, according to a recent report, citing both their attractiveness to prospective buyers, with the Greek banking system being among the most profitable in the eurozone, as well as the government’s open stance on the issue (unlike that of other European states).” |
|
Editor's Pick In the battle of public diplomacy, we should not take anything for granted. Absolutely nothing! Politicians, state agencies and private individuals need to work together to provide the country with mechanisms and experts in this field.Read the article |
| We’d like to hear from youShare your feedback at newsletters@ekathimerini.com |
| Did you receive this email from a friend?Subscribe to our newsletters here |
 |
| Kathimerini English Edition is published as a single paper with the International Edition of NYTimes |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment