Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Cyprus on Sunday in a visit focused on the potential role the island could play in linking India to Europe via a trade corridor, officials said.
Narendra Modi on Sunday upon his arrival at Larnaca Airport © X
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Cyprus on Sunday in a visit focused on the potential role the island could play in linking India to Europe via a trade corridor, officials said.
Modi, who was on his way to a summit of the G7 group of nations in Canada, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides were scheduled to address business leaders on Sunday and hold formal talks on Monday.
India is pursuing the so-called India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) trade link by sea and rail, but the visit is being held in the shadow of a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East.
"One of the objectives of our discussions is the connection of India with Europe through the region of the wider Middle East, (and) its entry into Europe through the Republic of Cyprus," Christodoulides told journalists earlier Sunday.
The two-day visit is part of a broader diplomatic outreach to European nations. Cyprus assumes the rotating EU presidency for six months in early 2026. The two countries have close relations through their shared membership of the Commonwealth.
Reporting by Michele Kambas
Ankara rejected on Wednesday what it called the "prejudiced and unfair" stance of the European Union towards fundamental rights and the judiciary in Turkey, and regarding Cyprus, contained in the bloc's report on EU membership candidates.
Turkey's parliament is set on Wednesday to ratify a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO's second-largest army to Riyadh's defence as it faces attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Hezbollah on Wednesday rejected accusations that it had dispatched experts to Yemen to fight alongside the Houthis in their war against the internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia.
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