Indian President speaks of shared values with Cyprus

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind addressed on Monday the House of Representatives plenary in the presence of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and spoke of the shared values and deep relations between Cyprus and India.

Kovind, who was on an official visit to the Republic of Cyprus, was welcomed by House Speaker Demetris Syllouris and they both paid floral tributes to Mahatma Ghandi’s bust located next to the Parliament building.

In his address before the Cypriot legislators, India’s President spoke at length of the progress his country has achieved in business, taxation and technology.

“India is open for business – and India is open for Cyprus. Do come, and come quickly,” he said extending an invitation to Cypriots whether they wish to invest or use their expertise and skills.

Referring to the relations between the two countries, he noted that they “are old, deep and have multiple facets.”

“As ancient civilisations, our first priority is our people,” he said, adding that “the strong connection between the citizens of Cyprus and India is the most important source of our bilateral energy.”

From people to people contacts, Kovind pointed out, “we build economic and trade links, educational and intellectual connections and a fruitful bilateral partnership.”

He further spoke of the two countries’ mutual commitment “to peace, security and sovereignty.” This, he said, “takes to the multilateral sphere and to global matters, where inevitably we find ourselves on the same side.”

In a reference to Mahatma Gandhi and the first President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios he said that they “don’t belong to any one country,” adding that “they are part of the heritage of humanity.”

India’s President also noted that “it is not common in diplomacy for Presidents of two countries to exchange visits in successive years.” That this has happened, he added, “is an indicator of how special our relationship is.”