Athens: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and welcomed his invitation to visit India.

Addressing the joint presser with PM Modi, the Greek PM said, “Dear PM, it is my pleasure to welcome your invitation to India. I am certain that we will witness the relationship and its multiplying effect. When two friends sit together an Indian proverb says, one plus one is not 2 but 11.”

He also congratulated India on the Chandrayaan-3 mission that made history by becoming the first mission to soft-land on the lunar South Pole, a region that has never been explored before.

“Congratulations on conquering the South Pole of the Moon," said the Greek PM.

Kyriakos while speaking on PM Modi's visit to Greece, added, “The most populous democracy of the planet (India) is being hosted by the first democracy on earth (Greece), So signs are favourable.”

He also called for side-by-side cooperation between the two countries in the period of upheaval.

"We are ready to proceed side by side in dealing with the challenges of our times, especially in the period of upheaval and war in Ukraine - facts which make it even more necessary to respect the UN Charter," said the Greek PM.

PM Modi arrived in Athens this morning, after attending the 15th BRICs summit in Johannesburg, for his maiden visit to Greece at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

At the Athens International Airport, PM Modi was received by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.

He received a rousing welcome upon his arrival at the hotel in Athens with members of the diaspora who had gathered outside the hotel chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' and 'Modi, Modi.'

PM Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister in the last 40 years to visit Greece. The last Prime Ministerial visit from India to Greece was in 1983 by Indira Gandhi. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had visited New Delhi in 2019.

India and Greece enjoy civilizational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties.