The Mediterranean region will see more of India, EAM Jaishankar said during his Cyprus visit

Pointing out that India's footprint, interest and influence will expand with time, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that there will be "more of India" in the Mediterranean region.

Addressing a business community event in Limassol during his visit to Cyprus, EAM Jaishankar on Friday emphasized that the Mediterranean region was of growing interest to India. He also referred to the "very visible intensification" of ties with countries in the north Mediterranean as well as the south Mediterranean.

"So I speak to you today therefore as a Foreign Minister of a country that is globalizing very rapidly, whose footprint and whose interest and whose influence will expand with time and as it does so I want to really make you all understand that this is a region where there will be certainly more of India and when that happens, as that happens, for us the relationship with Cyprus is something which will be an anchor in that respect," EAM Jaishankar explained.

The remarks came a day after he reiterated India's commitment to a bicommunal, bizonal federation based on UN resolutions as the solution to the Cyprus issue. (It is worth noting that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots have been at odds for decades. Recent reports indicate that tensions between Greece and Turkey over the split island of Cyprus appear to be rising).

During the event on Friday, EAM Jaishankar also spoke about India's efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Even in the most difficult days of the pandemic, we were very conscious that we were part of the global community and this was a shared fight against the pandemic," he said.

The country was a very major exporter of pharmaceuticals, especially in 2020. "Our pharmaceutical industry stepped up to the challenge, it increased its production very significantly," EAM Jaishankar said.

He highlighted that India is a trusted partner when it comes to global supply chains. "We are working on Free Trade Agreements with different countries to promote business. Obviously the one with European Union is under negotiation," he said.

During his address, EAM Jaishankar also stated that India and Cyprus had bilateral trade of around USD 214 million last year. He expressed optimism that they would surpass that amount much sooner this year.

EAM Jaishankar spoke of seven areas which Cyprus and India should work forward in:

  1. Finance
  2. Shipping 3.Tourism
  3. Knowledge Economy
  4. Mobility flows
  5. Third country projects
  6. Mediterranean collaboration

He said that the Republic of Cyprus was upgraded to Category-I of Foreign Portfolio Investors in India in June 2021, making it the third non-FATF nation—after Mauritius and the UAE—to receive this exemption.

He further mentioned that in December 2021, Invest India and Invest Cyprus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of developing comprehensive economic collaboration between the two nations and enhancing their mutual investment operations.

EAM Jaishankar said that an institutional framework for economic cooperation existed between India and Cyprus. The minister emphasized that Cyprus, which has made cumulative investments of USD 12 billion over the past 20 years, is the 10th largest investor in India.

The External Affairs Minister also noted that the Cyprus-India Business Association which was established under the auspices of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce in 2005, has been steadily progressing towards expanding investment and commercial ties.