The official visit of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, to India has commenced with a definitive focus on economic and commercial cooperation. The delegation began its itinerary in Mumbai, where President Christodoulides announced that a new Cyprus Trade Centre will officially open in the city on 1 September 2026 to serve as a business hub for Indian corporations seeking access to the European Union single market.
The first leg of the visit included the inauguration of the Eurobank representative offices in Mumbai and the announcement of the first Bollywood film production scheduled to shoot in Cyprus this coming summer. The project is the result of a collaboration between producers Anjali Bhushan Maggo and Athena Xenidou, pointing to new investment avenues within the creative industries sector.
Prior to starting his official engagements, President Christodoulides laid a wreath at the memorial for the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which claimed the life of a Cypriot citizen.
Bilateral agreements at the Business Forum
During the Cyprus–India Business Forum, co-organised by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Invest Cyprus and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, several institutional Memoranda of Understanding were signed. These agreements formalised cooperation between the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Invest Cyprus and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
A separate memorandum was finalized between the Cyprus Defence and Space Industry Cluster and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers. Concurrently, Indian firms Saptang Labs PVT Ltd and CHANNELIT Limited, alongside the IGC Business and Investment Council, ratified bilateral agreements with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
During a roundtable discussion with 30 Indian chief executives, Dodla Dairy Ltd expressed specific interest in importing Cypriot dairy products, while the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre explored plans to develop wellness tourism infrastructure in Cyprus. The Mumbai itinerary concluded with a visit to the National Stock Exchange of India, following an existing connectivity memorandum with the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
Political discussions and regional corridors
The presidential delegation subsequently travelled to New Delhi, where they received an official military reception ahead of a scheduled meeting with the Indian Minister of External Affairs and formal talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leadership will review the 2025–2029 Joint Action Plan and exchange bilateral government agreements concerning defence, security, innovation and education, before a meeting and official dinner hosted by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
The talks in New Delhi are centred on the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor. The Cypriot delegation, leveraging the current Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is promoting Limassol as the natural maritime gateway and logistics hub for the corridor into Europe.
Before the commencement of the political talks in the capital, President Christodoulides also laid a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial.
