Cyprus ready to be part of IMEC: Foreign Minister Kombos

Cyprus attaches “great significance” to the India Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, said the country’s visiting Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos.

In a written interview to The Hindu, Mr. Kombos said Cyprus wishes to participate in the IMEC project and argued that the Cyprus-India relation is not aimed at any third country and that it stands on its own “merit”.

“Cyprus attaches great importance and expresses its readiness towards participation in IMEC projects, considering its strategic location, combined with its EU membership and business-friendly environment, modern infrastructure,” said Mr. Kombos, describing the “robust shipping sector” of Cyprus as one of the major factors that will enable Cyprus to play a role in IMEC-related projects.

The visit by Mr. Kombos, the first by a Cypriot Foreign Minister in 14 years, is being held in the backdrop of the unease in India’s relation with Turkey which is involved in the territorial dispute in Northern Cyprus (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). Since India’s brief conflict with Pakistan between May 7 and 10, India’s ties with Turkey have been under a cloud as the latter extended support to Pakistan during the conflict. The tense relation was on display in the Turkish Republic Day (October 29, 2025) celebration at the Turkish embassy here where no Indian government representative was present.

Mr. Kombos acknowledged that the ‘Cyprus issue’ would be among the topics that would be discussed with the Indian side during his three-day stay but maintained that the Cyprus-India relation is not aimed at “counterbalancing” any regional power saying, “Cyprus-India ties are not directly aimed to counterbalancing but to strategically defend the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of our respective countries.”

Mr. Kombos touched upon the issue during his speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs on Thursday afternoon where he did not name Turkey but said that Cyprus faced “an aggressor”, “an invader” and “an occupier” on its own territory.

Mr. Kombos reiterated strong opposition of Cyprus to “international and cross border terrorism” and said, “Cyprus has a zero-tolerance approach and it has no distinction between terrorism and its financiers”. Officials here had earlier noted that Cyprus had been one of the “most consistent” supporters of India in the Kashmir issue as well as in its opposition to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Combos met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at Hyderabad House. The two sides reviewed the India-Cyprus Joint Action Plan 2025-2029 that was agreed to during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus in June this year.

In a social media message, Mr. Jaishankar said that the discussion covered the geopolitical situation, “developments in our respective regions” and cooperation in multilateral platforms.

Cooperation with Cyprus in multilateral platforms is acquiring greater importance as Cyprus will take over the Presidency of European Union Council on January 1, 2026. In a statement after the talks, Mr. Kombos appreciated “India’s long-standing principled support on the Cyprus issue and its upholding of international law”. He strongly supported the under-negotiation Free Trade Agreement between EU and India and said, the FTA will “unlock immense economic opportunities for India and for all the European countries.”