Prime Minister Mitsotakis, welcome to Times Now. You've been with us before and that makes us so happy.
Indeed, I have. Thanks for having me.
Yes. And this is a big time because AI is going to change the world. We have to be careful of the damages it may cause. There are benefits, surely there is suspicion. But how will this summit help to ensure that AI is well controlled?
Well, first of all, it's a real pleasure and privilege to be attending this very important AI summit which is hosted by Prime Minister Modi and by India. I think it is incredibly important that India is playing a leading role in defining the new global governance framework for AI. As you pointed out, AI can be truly transformative, but there are also serious risks that need to be addressed. And unless we manage to get to a point where we have a global understanding of how we will mitigate the risks while ensuring that the benefits of AI are spread equally and to every corner of the earth, we will not have done our job as global leaders. And that's why I think this is a very important topic to discuss. Greece has its own very ambitious AI strategy, but we're also keenly aware that there are serious risks that need to be addressed. The mental health of children and teenagers, the way these large language models are programmed to ensure that they are biased towards what we would consider good behavior, the way we protect our democratic space from misinformation and disinformation which can be amplified through artificial intelligence. I think these are critical topics which we will discuss tomorrow and hopefully we can reach some common conclusions.
Yes sir. And you've seen technology in the past, there's been the digital divide. Now surely we don't want an AI divide. We don't want a north-south, we don't want a rich-poor. We want everyone to benefit from this. Now you're meeting Prime Minister Modi tomorrow plus you're speaking. Surely all of you are thinking of this, that the benefits of AI should reach everybody.
Exactly. And I think this is exactly the theme of this global summit and a topic Prime Minister Modi is really focused on. And I must acknowledge that India has made a spectacular leap forward when it comes to the adoption of digital technologies. And I think this acknowledges that digital technology can be a force for good, can benefit billions of people, provided everyone has access to it and provided that the benefits, as you pointed out, are spread in a just and viable manner. I think we should be concerned about the concentration of power in the hands of a few global corporations. I think we need to talk to the big global leaders, the hyperscalers who are developing these cutting edge models, and we should have an honest discussion as we will have tomorrow. I'll have a chance to meet many of the global tech leaders tomorrow to raise our concerns and to understand how this technology can be put to the benefit of humanity as a whole.
Yes, of course. But that apart, Greece and India have been close for 2,000 years. The people of two countries and also as you know both countries now have a strategic relationship. You and the prime minister are friends. You've been here twice, he's been to Athens. Do you see the strategic relationship going forward? What are the two or three big things that lie ahead?
Well, first of all, even when it comes to AI, going back into the depth of our philosophical thinking, and I'm talking both about India and about Greece, I think can give us very useful ideas and cues about how to think regarding the ethical implications of AI. This is not only about artificial intelligence, it's also about ancestral intelligence. And both Greece and India have plenty of ancestral intelligence to leverage. But when you talk about the strategic partnership, I set a very clear target when I was elected for my second mandate to significantly strengthen the strategic partnership between Greece and India. And I'm glad to report that we are definitely moving in the right direction. There are obvious and significant synergies between our two countries that go way beyond our very close civilizational ties. Greece is the closest continental European country to India. So when you talk for example about the IMEC project to which I attach great significance, there are lots of projects that would benefit both India and Greece when it comes to connectivity, areas such as shipping, areas such as foreign direct investment by Greek companies into India but also by Indian companies into Greece. GMR is, as we speak, I visited the site a few weeks ago, is building the second largest airport in Greece. We have non-stop flights now between Delhi and Mumbai. IndiGo has already started flying, Aegean will start very soon. The potential to significantly strengthen our tourist ties is absolutely there. We want to be the preferred destination for Indian tourists in Europe. And the fact that we have non-stop flights now, and I'm sure that they will significantly expand, I think gives an additional impetus to those Indians who would love to travel to Greece. And of course, I'm always fascinated by these amazing Indian weddings that take place in Greece. I know there's a policy to have more Indian weddings in India, but if couples choose to get married in Greece, we will most certainly welcome them.
Yes, that apart there is one issue where India and Greece work very closely together and the fact that you sympathize with India so much is something India feels very happy about, which is the issue of terror. Because you have spoken up very strongly against terror, because we've faced terror problems, Europe has faced terror problems, but cross-border terrorism continues. Something has to be done.
We have very strong cooperation when it comes to our intelligence and security services. And as a country that has suffered from domestic terrorism, we are particularly sensitive to this topic and we will always stand hand in hand with those countries that are totally committed towards fighting and hopefully eradicating terrorism. So this is another area we have in common between Greece and India.
You spoke up very strongly after Pulwama. India hasn't forgotten. But I'm hearing that Greece and India are going to work very closely together in areas like defense. Could you tell us a little about that?
I think it is natural that we strengthen our ties also when it comes to security and defense. As you know, European countries are going to be spending significantly more on defense. The invasion of Ukraine was a rude awakening. Greece has been a country that has always spent more than 2% of its GDP on defense. So we are, I would say, ahead of the curve. As new technologies are emerging, as we're looking for cost-effective solutions to address our new defense challenges, I believe that this is an area where we can build significant ties. We also share some common platforms. For example, both India and Greece fly the French Rafale plane. So this gives us potential to further strengthen our ties both when it comes to exercises but also to bring together our defense industry. And for those Indian companies looking to invest in Europe, Greece should be a prime destination to attract investment by Indian companies that would like to establish a manufacturing presence in Europe.
The navies also work closely together as you know.
Yes, both navies. And of course I should also stress that Greece is a leading shipping nation. India has big aspirations when it comes to shipping. So protecting the freedom of navigation is a joint critical priority. When you just look at the route that the ships have to take to reach Greece from India or to reach India from Greece, they're going through some treacherous areas. So making sure that we work hand in hand to defend international law and in particular the international law of the seas and to defend freedom of navigation is a joint priority that both our governments share.
