India Reaffirms Support for Cyprus’ Peaceful Unification

India Reaffirms Support for Cyprus’ Peaceful Unification

Why in the News?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Cyprus and reiterated India’s support for the peaceful resolution of the “Cyprus Question.” His visit not only strengthened India Cyprus relations but also sent a subtle diplomatic signal to Turkiye and highlighted the bilateral ties ahead of Cyprus’ 2026 EU Council Presidency. The visit also underscored the importance of international cooperation, especially considering that India shares borders with 7 countries, which influences its geopolitical strategies and regional diplomacy. This diplomatic engagement comes at a time when India is also focusing on enhancing its digital infrastructure, exploring opportunities in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and preparing for its upcoming Census 2027, also known as the next janganana in India, which will be overseen by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Census Act 1948.

Strengthening India-Cyprus Relations:

• PM Narendra Modi met Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia, further enhancing India-Cyprus relations and discussing potential avenues for defence cooperation and digital infrastructure development, including the implementation of digital census tools and the Census Management and Monitoring System. These discussions also touched upon the importance of accurate census tables for policy-making.
• Modi received the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III, Cyprus’ highest honour, highlighting the strong bilateral ties and potential for collaboration in various sectors, including the sharing of expertise on socioeconomic indicators and the potential for conducting a caste census similar to the recent Bihar caste census to understand the role of caste in Indian politics.
• Modi lauded Cyprus as a “trusted EU partner” and reaffirmed the historical friendship between India and Cyprus since the 1950s, emphasizing the potential for collaboration in various sectors, including digital infrastructure development and the exchange of best practices for the upcoming Census 2027 in India, which may include innovative methods like self-enumeration and cloud-based data uploads. This census will be crucial, considering that the last population count in India was conducted in 2011.
• Cyprus supports India’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat, demonstrating the mutual support in international forums and potential cooperation on global initiatives such as the National Population Register and improving population enumeration techniques. This cooperation could extend to sharing insights on the schedules of Indian constitution relevant to census operations.
• India backed Cyprus’ sovereignty, territorial integrity, and UN Security Council Resolutions for a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus Question, showcasing its commitment to the Cyprus Question resolution process and drawing parallels to India’s own experiences with border management, given that India shares border with how many countries – seven in total.
• Both nations discussed the potential for establishing direct air connectivity to boost tourism and business ties, which could potentially contribute to the broader India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor initiative and facilitate the exchange of expertise on geotagging and other digital technologies used in modern census operations, including the house listing phase.