Nicosia: India will soon become the third-largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, highlighting myriad economic opportunities the country offers to companies from Cyprus.
Modi, who is in Cyprus on the first leg of his three-nation tour, made the remarks as he, along with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, attended a business roundtable on Sunday in Limassol, a city on the southern coast of Cyprus.
The Prime Minister highlighted India’s rapid economic transformation in the last 11 years and noted that the country, propelled by next-generation reforms, policy predictability, stable polity and Ease of Doing Business, has become the fastest-growing major economy in the world, the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, attended a business roundtable event on Sunday. Upon his visit to the country, President Christodoulides called PM Modi’s visit historic and “a new chapter in a strategic partnership that knows no limits.”
PM Modi, accompanied by a large delegation of around 100 officials, is visiting Cyprus at the invitation of President Nicos Christodoulides.
The visit holds significance as Cyprus has been a consistent supporter of India’s positions on Kashmir, cross-border terrorism, and reforms in the United Nations Security Council. Cyprus takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from January 1.
The visit will reaffirm the shared commitment of the two countries to deepen bilateral ties and strengthen India’s engagement with the Mediterranean region and the European Union.PM Modi’s visit follows an invitation extended to him by Christodoulides and comes eight years after then-President Nicos Anastasiades visited India.
In his departure statement in New Delhi earlier, Modi said Cyprus is a close friend and an important partner in the Mediterranean region and the EU.
“The visit provides an opportunity to build upon the historical bonds and expand our ties in the areas of trade, investment, security, technology, and promote people-to-people exchanges,” he said.
From Cyprus, he will head to Kananaskis in Canada to participate in the G7 Summit at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Modi said his three-nation tour is also an opportunity to thank partner countries for their steadfast support to India in its fight against cross-border terrorism and to galvanise global understanding on tackling terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
