Cypriot officials have strongly advocated for the accelerated development of the Mediterranean leg of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) during the visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to India, positioning the country as a key gateway for the ambitious connectivity project.Officials emphasised starting concrete work on the European end of the corridor, particularly involving Greece, Cyprus, and Italy as the primary entry points into Europe. “We agree that we need to start building the building blocks... We believe that we should start from the Mediterranean, like Greece, Cyprus, Italy and India,” a senior Cypriot official stated, underlining the strategic focus on the Mediterranean segment.The officials highlighted Cyprus’s unique geographic and maritime advantages to make the Mediterranean leg operational. They noted Cyprus’s role as a stable, reliable hub amid regional instability.“Cyprus can be a part of that... we can be the safe partner,” one official declared. They pointed to Cyprus’s significant maritime capabilities, revealing that Cypriot ship owners are already ordering vessels from Indian shipyards.During its current presidency of the EU Council that started in January, Cyprus has taken a proactive step by forming an IMEC working group within the European Union. “We decided and we formed the friends of the IMEC group within the European Union. It was a decision of Cyprus,” the officials stressed.The push comes as work on IMEC saw a setback after the October 7 attacks in Israel and subsequent conflicts in Gaza and Iran. Cypriot officials acknowledged the difficulties but called for immediate progress on the Mediterranean side.“Need to start building this very important corridor,” they noted. Officials stressed that the private sector must drive implementation while governments provide the political framework. “We are preparing the ground for when the time is right,” they added, advocating for infrastructure alliances, enhanced port and airport connectivity, and storage facilities.Cyprus’s ports, located just minutes from airports, were presented as ideal for efficient cargo handling and e-commerce distribution into Europe and West Asia. Cypriot leaders expressed confidence that focusing on the Mediterranean leg, leveraging strong India-Cyprus ties and Cyprus’s position as a trusted EU member, would provide a solid foundation for the entire corridor, creating a major secure alternative supply chain route.During the ongoing visit of the President, Cyprus has announced the opening of a trade office in Mumbai and plans to shoot a Bollywood film in Cyprus from June, signalling deepening cultural and economic ties. Both sides have agreed to double the trade ties in the next 5 years.

The officials highlighted Cyprus’s unique geographic and maritime advantages to make the Mediterranean leg operational. They noted Cyprus’s role as a stable, reliable hub amid regional instability.

Cypriot officials have strongly advocated for the accelerated development of the Mediterranean leg of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) during the visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to India, positioning the country as a key gateway for the ambitious connectivity project. Officials emphasised starting concrete work on the European end of the corridor, particularly involving Greece, Cyprus, and Italy as the primary entry points into Europe. “We agree that we need to start building the building blocks... We believe that we should start from the Mediterranean, like Greece, Cyprus, Italy and India,” a senior Cypriot official stated, underlining the strategic focus on the Mediterranean segment. The officials highlighted Cyprus’s unique geographic and maritime advantages to make the Mediterranean leg operational. They noted Cyprus’s role as a stable, reliable hub amid regional instability. “Cyprus can be a part of that... we can be the safe partner,” one official declared. They pointed to Cyprus’s significant maritime capabilities, revealing that Cypriot ship owners are already ordering vessels from Indian shipyards. During its current presidency of the EU Council that started in January, Cyprus has taken a proactive step by forming an IMEC working group within the European Union. “We decided and we formed the friends of the IMEC group within the European Union. It was a decision of Cyprus,” the officials stressed. The push comes as work on IMEC saw a setback after the October 7 attacks in Israel and subsequent conflicts in Gaza and Iran. Cypriot officials acknowledged the difficulties but called for immediate progress on the Mediterranean side. “Need to start building this very important corridor,” they noted. Officials stressed that the private sector must drive implementation while governments provide the political framework. “We are preparing the ground for when the time is right,” they added, advocating for infrastructure alliances, enhanced port and airport connectivity, and storage facilities. Cyprus’s ports, located just minutes from airports, were presented as ideal for efficient cargo handling and e-commerce distribution into Europe and West Asia. Cypriot leaders expressed confidence that focusing on the Mediterranean leg, leveraging strong India-Cyprus ties and Cyprus’s position as a trusted EU member, would provide a solid foundation for the entire corridor, creating a major secure alternative supply chain route. During the ongoing visit of the President, Cyprus has announced the opening of a trade office in Mumbai and plans to shoot a Bollywood film in Cyprus from June, signalling deepening cultural and economic ties. Both sides have agreed to double the trade ties in the next 5 years.

The officials highlighted Cyprus’s unique geographic and maritime advantages to make the Mediterranean leg operational. They noted Cyprus’s role as a stable, reliable hub amid regional instability.

During visit of President Christodoulides, Cypriot officials push on Mediterranean leg of IMEC

India has backed Cyprus and&nbsp;expressed its deep concern&nbsp;on a Turkey-backed move to open the ghost town of Varosha.&nbsp;

Varosha was once a popular resort town but was abandoned after the 1974 invasion of the&nbsp;Mediterranean&nbsp;island by Turkey.&nbsp;

The invasion led to the division of the&nbsp;country into the&nbsp;Republic of Cyprus and the northern Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognised only by Ankara.

"This is an issue that the UNSC&nbsp; [United Nations Security Council] is seized off. We are deeply concerned at the recent unilateral announcements with regard to the status of&nbsp;Varosha.," said&nbsp;Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in response to a question at weekly virtual press meet.

&nbsp; 
"We have always advocated peaceful resolution of this issue in accordance with the UN resolution. Unfortunately, the voice of the UNSC as reflected in its presidential statement of 9th Oct 2020 has not been adhered to. We have consistently supported the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Republic of Cyprus," he added.

This is the second comment by India on the issue in the last 24 hours.&nbsp;On Wednesday, India's envoy to United Nations TS Tirumurti expressed deep concern on the issue when the matter came to UNSC.&nbsp;

At the UNSC meeting on the issue, Tirumurti&nbsp;expressed "deep concern" on the "unilateral steps on Varosha contrary to UNSC resolutions" and said that "Cypriot-led, Cypriot-owned process on ‘bi-zonal bi-communal federation’ should be the basis".

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNSC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNSC</a> today on Cyprus &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/UN_CYPRUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN_CYPRUS</a>, I said: 
🔆Deeply concerned on unilateral steps on Varosha contrary to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNSC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNSC</a> resolutions 
🔆 Council’s Presidential Statement of Oct 2020 not adhered to 
🔆 Cypriot-led, Cypriot-owned process on ‘bi-zonal bi-communal federation’ should be basis
— PR/Amb T S Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ambtstirumurti/status/1417891713310396418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Cyprus had taken the matter of the UNSC over the reopening of the town by leadership in the north.&nbsp;India is a non-permanent member of the high table for a two-year term.

The move to reopen Varosha was announced by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was strongly criticised by the Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

New Delhi has joined the US, UK, EU who have also expressed concerns over the development.&nbsp;

Cyprus's foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides had spoken on the issue with the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken and briefed about the developments.

Turkey-backed violation of UNSC resolutions on Cyprus comes even as Ankara in the past has been advising New Delhi on UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had&nbsp;commented in the backdrop of India removing special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. This has been the main cause of the deterioration of ties between the two&nbsp;countries in the last two&nbsp;years.&nbsp;

India has backed Cyprus and expressed its deep concern on a Turkey-backed move to open the ghost town of Varosha. Varosha was once a popular resort town but was abandoned after the 1974 invasion of the Mediterranean island by Turkey.

India has backed Cyprus and expressed its deep concern on a Turkey-backed move to open the ghost town of Varosha. Varosha was once a popular resort town but was abandoned after the 1974 invasion of the Mediterranean island by Turkey. The invasion led to the division of the country into the Republic of Cyprus and the northern Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognised only by Ankara. "This is an issue that the UNSC [United Nations Security Council] is seized off. We are deeply concerned at the recent unilateral announcements with regard to the status of Varosha.," said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in response to a question at weekly virtual press meet. "We have always advocated peaceful resolution of this issue in accordance with the UN resolution. Unfortunately, the voice of the UNSC as reflected in its presidential statement of 9th Oct 2020 has not been adhered to. We have consistently supported the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Republic of Cyprus," he added. This is the second comment by India on the issue in the last 24 hours. On Wednesday, India's envoy to United Nations TS Tirumurti expressed deep concern on the issue when the matter came to UNSC. At the UNSC meeting on the issue, Tirumurti expressed "deep concern" on the "unilateral steps on Varosha contrary to UNSC resolutions" and said that "Cypriot-led, Cypriot-owned process on ‘bi-zonal bi-communal federation’ should be the basis". In #UNSC today on Cyprus & @UN_CYPRUS, I said: 🔆Deeply concerned on unilateral steps on Varosha contrary to #UNSC resolutions 🔆 Council’s Presidential Statement of Oct 2020 not adhered to 🔆 Cypriot-led, Cypriot-owned process on ‘bi-zonal bi-communal federation’ should be basis — PR/Amb T S Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) July 21, 2021 × Cyprus had taken the matter of the UNSC over the reopening of the town by leadership in the north. India is a non-permanent member of the high table for a two-year term. The move to reopen Varosha was announced by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was strongly criticised by the Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. New Delhi has joined the US, UK, EU who have also expressed concerns over the development. Cyprus's foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides had spoken on the issue with the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken and briefed about the developments. Turkey-backed violation of UNSC resolutions on Cyprus comes even as Ankara in the past has been advising New Delhi on UNSC resolutions on Kashmir. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had commented in the backdrop of India removing special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. This has been the main cause of the deterioration of ties between the two countries in the last two years.

India backs Cyprus on Varosha issue; calls Turkey-backed move 'concerning'

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During visit of President Christodoulides, Cypriot officials push on Mediterranean leg of IMEC

India backs Cyprus on Varosha issue; calls Turkey-backed move 'concerning'