PM Modi to visit Cyprus in the middle of Turkiye-Pakistan solidarity

NEW DELHI: As India works to expand its footprint in Europe, PM Narendra Modi will visit Cyprus on his way to Canada for the G7 summit and Croatia while returning home.

Both Cyprus and Croatia are members of the EU and the former will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council for the first half of the next year. Modi was scheduled to travel to Croatia last month, along with the Netherlands and Norway, but the visit had to be postponed because of the military tensions between India and Pakistan.

The G7 summit takes place at Kananaskis in Alberta from June 15 to 17, with Modi participating in the outreach session on the last day. The eleventh hour invitation by Canada means that PM’s programme is yet to be finalised but government sources said efforts are underway to schedule bilateral meetings.

The visit to Cyprus, only the 3rd by an Indian PM after A B Vajpayee in 2002 and Indira Gandhi in 1983, will also be followed closely as it comes in the middle of tensions between India and Turkiye over the latter’s support to Pakistan - and the show of solidarity by President Recep Erdogan himself - during the India-Pakistan military clash last month.

Ankara’s recognition of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the northern region that was seized by Turkish forces in 1974 and differences over gas exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean remain a constant source of tensions between Turkiye and Cyprus. India has consistently backed solution of what is known as the Cyprus problem through UNSC resolutions and international law.

As Turkiye stands solidly with Pakistan, India has sought to strengthen ties with both Cyprus and Greece, focusing on defence and security cooperation. Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Greece in 40 years when he travelled to Athens in 2023.

Both countries have supported India on issues concerning terrorism and also on Kashmir. According to the MEA, Cyprus has backed India on a number of significant issues like India’s election to UNSC, the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, NSG membership and also the 1998 nuclear tests.

Modi’s visit to Croatia on his way back will also be the first visit by any Indian PM to the country. S Jaishankar became the first Indian foreign minister to visit the southeast European country in 2021 as the 2 countries looked to expand bilateral ties. Two years later, India and Croatia also signed an MoU for defence cooperation.