New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday strongly pitched for the “territorial integrity” of Cyprus, the European nation which has since the 1970s been divided following an invasion by Turkey.
PM Modi was even given a guided tour of the ceasefire line between Cyprus and Turkey by President Nikos Christodoulides, with the Indian Prime Minister being shown the mountains near Nicosia, which is currently under Turkish occupation.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Cyprus comes after Turkey, which invaded the Mediterranean nation in 1974, showed strong support for Pakistan following Operation Sindoor last month.
Ankara has propped up the regime in Northern Cyprus–the Turkish part located in the North Eastern portion of the island–which has no international recognition. The UN maintains a buffer zone between the two parts of Cyprus.
“India reiterated its unwavering and consistent support for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Republic of Cyprus. In this regard, both sides emphasized the need to avoid unilateral actions as essential for creating a conducive environment for the resumption of meaningful negotiation,” the joint statement agreed upon by Modi and President Nikos Christodoulides said.
The joint statement added: “Cyprus and India expressed their strong commitment to the resumption of UN-facilitated efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Cyprus Question on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in accordance with the agreed UN framework and the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.”
The President of Cyprus said that he had briefed Modi on the ‘Cyprus Question’, specifically on the ‘occupation’ of a part of its territory by Turkey, and calling for its own territorial integrity, while thanking India for its long support through the UN peacekeeping missions in the Mediterranean nation. A number of distinguished Indian military officers including Lt. General K.S. Thimayya, Lt.General P.S. Gyani and Major-General Dewan Prem Chand have served in UN Peacekeeping missions in Cyprus.
From Cyprus, the Prime Minister will travel to Canada to attend the G7 summit, before travelling to Croatia on 18 June for a bilateral visit, subsequent to which he will return to India.
Nicosia has positioned itself as a European base for India, with the two nations agreeing to strengthen cooperation in defence and security matters, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the country.
“To further strengthen defence and security cooperation, emphasis will be laid on the defence industry under the bilateral Defence Cooperation Programme. A separate dialogue will be started on cyber and maritime security,” PM Modi said during the joint statement to the press.
Earlier this year, New Delhi and Nicosia signed the bilateral defence cooperation programme. PM Modi announced that both nations would soon start work on a five-year action plan towards deepening defence cooperation.
The Indian Prime Minister added: “To prevent terrorism, drug and arms smuggling, a mechanism for real time information exchange will be created between our agencies.”
President Christodoulides defended India’s right to respond to terrorist attacks to protect its people, noting that this is Modi’s first trip abroad since the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on 22 April, which left 26 people dead.
PM Modi was also awarded the Order of Makarios III by Christodoulides. The Indian Prime Minister has received over 20 international awards in the last eleven years.
IMEC, Trade & EU FTA
Cyprus has focused on positioning itself as a potential regional connectivity partner with India through the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Christodoulides brought it up during the bilateral discussions with Modi, highlighting that its “geo-strategic location” can be India’s gateway to Europe.
“We also talked about increasing connectivity with the Mediterranean region. We agree that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will pave the way for peace and prosperity in the region,” said PM Modi.
As a part of regional connectivity, both Modi and Christodoulides welcomed the prospect of Indian shipping companies in establishing a presence in Cyprus, given its potential to “serve as a regional hub for transshipment, storage, distribution, and logistics.”
The Indian Prime Minister reiterated that this is not an “era for war”, calling for dialogue and diplomacy to end the current conflicts in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. In that context, the Indian Prime Minister positioned IMEC as a potential peacemaker in the future.
During his visit, a number of agreements in the business sector were signed Sunday, including one between the National Payments Corporation of India ( NPCI) and Eurobank of Cyprus to introduce Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Cyprus for cross border transactions. India’s GIFT city (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cyprus Stock Exchange to enable cross border flows.
“This year, the ‘India, Cyprus and Greece Business and Investment Council’ has also been launched. These initiatives will also boost mutual trade and investment between the two countries. Mutual cooperation in areas such as technology, innovation, health, agriculture, renewable energy and climate justice was also discussed in detail,” said the Indian Prime Minister.
Modi affirmed that the free trade agreement between India and the European Union should be concluded before the end of the year–a target which was set in February during the visit of the EU’s college of commissioners to India.
The Prime Minister also called for direct air-to-air connectivity between the two countries, given the ‘favoured’ status Cyprus offers to Indian tourists, while emphasising that work on a mobility agreement will be started soon.
“In light of ongoing global crises, both sides committed to strengthening cooperation in emergency preparedness and coordinated crisis response. Drawing on past successful efforts, the leaders agreed to institutionalise coordination in evacuation and Search and Rescue (SAR) operations,” added the joint statement.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Cyprus bestows highest honour on Modi, PM dedicates it to friendly ties between both countries