New Delhi: India and Cyprus Friday elevated its relationship to a strategic partnership with a focus on defence, maritime security, cyber security and connectivity. The announcements come as New Delhi continues to deepen its bilateral ties with European nations.
“The two leaders elevated bilateral ties to the level of strategic partnership. A number of MoUs [memorandum of understandings] were announced including the establishment of a joint working group on counter-terrorism – a MoU for diplomatic training, a MoU for cooperation in the field of higher education, a MoU in cultural collaboration, a MoU in innovation and technology and a technical arrangement for the establishment of official cooperation in search and rescue matters,” Sibi George, India’s Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs said at a special briefing.
George added that the two countries have also agreed to establish a cyber security dialogue, consular dialogue and a roadmap for bilateral defence cooperation between 2026 and 2031.
This is the third defence agreement that New Delhi and Nicosia have announced since 2022, as the two countries look to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors. The original defence cooperation agreement was announced in 2022 during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the island country. Last year, the two countries moved forward with work to create a roadmap, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus.
The roadmap will focus on areas such as capacity building and technical cooperation, while also focussing on defence partnerships between Indian “private sector and public sector firms” with Cypriot defence companies, Manish, India’s High Commissioner to Cyprus explained at the special briefing.
He added: “The context is India’s Security and Defence Partnership agreement signed with the European Union (EU) in January this year. This gives Indian defence companies an opportunity to enter into partnerships with EU companies. The EU announced a $150 billion programme called SAFE. Cyprus has been allocated $1.5 billion under this programme.”
The SDP with the EU allows Indian private defence firms to partner with European companies for the sale of defence platforms, or outsourcing manufacturing to itself. Around 35 per cent of all equipment for any bid for a European defence programme can be sourced out to countries that have signed the SDP with the EU.
The announcements were made following a bilateral meeting between Modi and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. Christodoulides is on a state visit to India between 20 and 23 May. He earlier landed in Mumbai on 20 May, where he interacted with Indian businesses, and announced the opening of a trade office for Cyprus in the Indian city. The Cypriot President held bilateral meetings Friday and will attend a state banquet hosted by President Droupudi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The two countries also agreed to establish a bilateral connectivity dialogue, as Nicosia continues its push to become a part of the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). While Cyprus did not sign the original memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project in 2023, it remains keen to be a key connectivity partner for India to Europe.
Christodoulides also holds the rotational presidency of the Council of the EU. Under the Cypriot presidency, the EU and India concluded negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to be operationalised within the next half year.
The island nation has since 1974 been divided following an invasion by Türkiye. Ankara has continued to prop up the regime in Northern Cyprus, located in the Northeastern part of the island, which has no international recognition. The United Nations maintains a buffer zone between the two parts of Cyprus.
Christodoulides welcomed India’s strong support for the territorial integrity of sovereignty of Cyprus during his statement to the press alongside Modi Friday. During his visit to the island nation last year, Modi had strongly pitched for the territorial integrity of the country. The Indian Prime Minister was given a guided tour of the ceasefire line between Cyprus and Türkiye during his visit in June 2025.
(Edited by Archishman Ganguly)
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