PM Modi meets Cyprus President, supports the island nation's unity

In a meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged India’s support for the "independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity" of the Republic of Cyprus. Both the leaders discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the friendship between the two countries on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to PM Modi, he and the Cyprus President held talks on enhancing the "commercial, cultural and technological linkages". Also, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar, stated that there was a common desire expressed to strengthen the cooperation between India and Cyprus.

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'Need to increase bilateral trade and investment'

Earlier, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, had visited Cyprus in September 2018. PM Modi and the Cyprus President while acknowledging the potential and strengths of their respective countries, focused on the need to increase the volume of bilateral trade and investment. Moreover, the PM thanked the Cyprus government for its support to India’s candidature for permanent membership in various multilateral forums such as the UN Security Council and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The issues of regional and international importance like terrorism also figured in the meeting.  

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Division of Cyprus

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, after which the country was partitioned. Since then, Turkey maintains a huge military presence in the region. While the northern part of Cyprus declared Independence in 1983, Turkey is the only country that officially recognized this territory, known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. However, the rest of the world has accepted only the Republic of Cyprus. Despite several attempts to reunite the divided regions of Cyprus, talks have perpetually failed due to disagreement on key areas such as readjustment of territory.

(With ANI inputs)

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