Strengthening partnership with India key to Europe's foreign policy: Greek PM

New Delhi: India is an important ally in pursuit of global peace and security and bolstering partnership with it should be the cornerstone of Europe's foreign policy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

In an address at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue, Mitsotakis described the conflict in Ukraine as much more than a "local war on European soil" and that it is a "brutal challenge" to international stability and the rules-based order that India has supported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, foreign ministers from a number of countries and a galaxy of strategic affairs experts and academicians attended the session. When it comes to shaping global debates and address great challenges, India is now often regarded, and rightly so, as a consensus builder and a voice of reason in an increasingly polarised world, the Greek PM said.

“Today, India is a great power on the world stage and an important ally in pursuit of peace and security -- a rising force at the heart of G20 and a leading player in the fight against climate change,” said Mitsotakis, the chief guest at the Raisina Dialogue. “Strengthening our partnership with India should be the cornerstone of Europe’s foreign policy and this is certainly true for my country,” he said. Highlighting the significance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Mitsotakis said Greece is sitting right at the centre of it. “We are your natural doorstep to Europe and beyond,” he said, calling the IMEC as a “peace project”.