President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday afternoon touched down at Mumbai airport to begin a four-day state visit to India.

He sported a grey Nehru jacket – a sleeveless jacket made famous by late Indian prime minister Jawarhalal Nehru – as he hopped down the stairs of the Cyprus Airways jet which had flown him and a multi-minister Cypriot delegation to India.

Welcoming him at the airport was Maharashtra state governor Jishnu Dev Varna, chief minister Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis, and protocol minister Jaykumar Rawal, with Maharashtra the state in which Mumbai is located. 

After being welcomed to India, Christodoulides and the wider Cypriot delegation was whisked across Mumbai, with roads closed for his visit and electronic billboards displaying welcome messages. 

Later on Wednesday evening Christodoulides laid a wreath at the memorial to those killed by a terror attack which was carried out in 2008 at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel, and which killed one Cypriot national, Andreas Liveras.

After laying the wreath, he wrote in the memorial book that “on the occasion of my state visit to India, I wish to pay tribute to the innocent victims, including a Cypriot national, of the November 2008 terrorist attacks”.

He added that he wished to “honour the courage shown in the face of hatred and violence” by both victims and survivors of the attack, which was one of a series of attacks carried out in Mumbai in on November 26, 2008, and during the course of the following days.

“Their memory reminds us that terrorism, including cross-border terrorism in all its forms, remains a threat to peace, security, and humanity, and reinforces the need for international cooperation,” he wrote. 

To this end, he wrote that “Cyprus stands in solidarity with India in remembrance and hope for a more peaceful future”.

The 2008 attacks began on November 26 at multiple locations in Mumbai, including the Leopold Cafe and the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, before armed attackers reached the Taj Mahal Palace hotel late at night.

The siege continued for several days before Indian security forces regained full control of the building on November 29.

Among those killed was Cypriot businessman Andreas Liveras, a 73-year-old yachting entrepreneur who had travelled to India for a maritime exhibition.

He was among hostages held inside the hotel as gunmen moved through the building separating victims by nationality.

His brother said at the time that he had been travelling on a British passport. It was believed that had he been using his Cypriot passport he might not have been targeted.

Reports from St George’s Hospital in Mumbai stated he had been shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries after being brought in by ambulance.

His death was confirmed on November 28, 2008, after family members in Cyprus and the United Kingdom were informed of his condition.

According to statements from relatives, Liveras had called his son shortly before he was killed to say he was safe.

The wreath to those killed in the attacks (Tom Cleaver)

Liveras, born in Cyprus in 1935, had emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1963 and built a shipping and hospitality business empire that included yacht charter interests and food manufacturing ventures.

He was widely known in business circles and had been ranked among wealthy Cypriot-linked families in international listings.