Modi Bestowed With Cyprus’ Highest Civilian Honour

A day after Narendra Modi reached Cyprus – the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 23 years – he was bestowed with the country’s highest civilian honour, the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III. Dedicating this honour to the India-Cyprus relations and ‘mutual understanding’, Modi said, “This is an honour not just to Narendra Modi but to 140 crore Indians; this is an honour to their capabilities and aspirations. This is an honour to our culture, brotherhood and the ideology of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. I dedicate this to the friendly relations between India and Cyprus, our shared values and mutual understanding…”

Modi’s visit to this Mediterranean nation, the first in a three-nation tour that will also take him to Canada for the G7 meeting and Croatia in the Balkans, is an important one. Not only is India looking to deepen its relations with Europe – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar only just recently concluded a nearly week-long visit to France and Belgium, and Cyprus will hold the rotating presidency of the European Union Council next year – the country also has a long standing territorial dispute with its neighbour Turkey, a country that has deepened its ties with Pakistan and which came out in support of Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor. Cyprus’ dispute with Turkey dates back to 1974, when the latter invaded the country and occupied its northern region.

Modi’s visit is thus being seen as sending a message to Turkey. It is being viewed as a calculated move to counter the growing Turkey-Pakistan relationship by strengthening its own ties with a country that has a territorial dispute with Turkey.

Visits by Indian prime ministers to Cyprus are rare. The last one to come calling was Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002, and Indira Gandhi before that in 1982. But despite the rarity of such occasions, there was much bonhomie visible between Modi and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides. Christodoulides was present at the airport to greet Modi, and the latter declared how touched he was by this “special gesture”. The following day at a business forum (the India-Cyprus CEO Forum), Modi described Cyprus as a ‘gateway to Europe’ and invited it to be part of the India growth story, highlighting how India was moving towards becoming the third largest economy of the world. “I have realised your commitment to India-Cyprus economic ties,” Modi said referring to Cyprus’ commitment to building economic ties. “There is immense potential for advancement in our relationship. Cyprus has been our trusted partner for a long time… And significant investment has also been made in India from here,” he said. Citing France’s successful integration as a model, Modi also disclosed that talks are underway to bring Cyprus into India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem. “Many countries, like France, are associated with it. Talks are going on to include Cyprus in this and I welcome it,” he said.

By bringing Cyprus closer into its embrace, India isn’t just locating an ally in a region it hasn’t paid much attention to, but also sending a message it won’t take things lying down.

CyprusG7 SummitGrand Cross Vasudhaiva KutumbakamHighest Civilian HonourNarendra ModiWeb Exclusive