Press Releases

The President of the Republic Mr Nicos Anastasiades welcomed today the President of India Mr Ram Nath Kovind, who is paying a state visit to Cyprus.

President Anastasiades and his spouse welcomed the President of India and his spouse at the Presidential Palace, in the morning, while a military guard presented honors and the National Anthems of the two countries were performed.

Afterwards President Kovind laid a wreath at the statue of Archbishop Makarios III.

Later on the two Presidents held a private meeting during which they exchanged gifts, followed by expanded talks between the delegations of the two sides.

After the talks a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of financial intelligence and a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of the Environment were signed between the two countries, in the presence of the Presidents.

After the signing of the Memoranda, the two Presidents made remarks to the Media.

In his remarks President Anastasiades said, among other things, that “today, we have held extensive consultations in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding that traditionally characterizes the excellent level of our relationship. We discussed a number of issues in a wide spectrum of bilateral interest and identified specific areas on which we can work together to further solidify our partnership.

In this regard, we agreed to establish a Ministerial Working Group to oversee the conclusion of pending bilateral agreements and ensure the optimum implementation of existing ones, particularly those in the fields of economy, merchant shipping, investments and tourism.”

He added that “I briefed President Kovind on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus Problem. I elaborated on the prospect of resuming the negotiating process and reiterated my unwavering commitment to reach a viable and functional settlement, in full respect to international law, the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the values and principles of the EU.

Taking this opportunity, I wish to express the sincere gratitude and appreciation of the Government and the people of Cyprus to the President and the Indian government, for the principled stance and important support they offer to Cyprus in our efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement which will reunite Cyprus in a modern and truly independent state, free from any foreign dependencies.

A gratitude and appreciation which is also extended to India’s long-standing troop and police contribution to UNFICYP.”

On his part, President Kovind said, among other things, that Cyprus and India enjoy excellent relations and expressed his country’s support of Cyprus’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He added that “today we exchanged views on economic cooperation,” and noted that given Cyprus expertise in financial services and investment banking there are opportunities to deepen the bilateral economic partnership.

He also said that both he and President Anastasiades reaffirmed their will to enhance the collaboration between the two countries in fields such as IT, services, tourism, film industry, and shipping. 

RM/AM/AH/SCH