AMN
Describing terrorism as a “sophisticated weapon” from which no country is immune, Cyprus Thursday advocated close cooperation between India and the European Union for tackling the root cause of this global menace.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who is on a five-day visit to India, said the “long-standing” ties between India and Cyprus is reciprocal and of mutually beneficial. He said tomorrow agreements will be signed in the areas of merchant shipping, agriculture, aviation, education and culture to widen cooperation between the two countries.
The President said the major challenges in the area of security that Europe faces is the same which India does. Whether it is London, Stockholm, St Petersburg or Mumbai, all face the threat today. Terrorism is a sophisticated weapon from which no country is immune, he said.
In his keynote address at the ‘India Trilateral Forum 12’ in New Delhi, he asserted that security and economic sectors were two areas in which the two countries can work in a more focused manner to do a great deal in the strategic partnership.
Earlier, briefing reporters on his visit, Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the Cypriot President will meet his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee today.
He will also present Mukherjee with Grand Collar of Order of Makarios III, the highest ranked order of Cyprus to foreign heads of state and governments.
He will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow and hold delegation-level talks, apart from meeting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.