President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday night extolled Cyprus’ strengthening relations with India as he hosted an event to mark Diwali at the presidential palace.

“The festival of Diwali reminds us that light is not merely the opposite of darkness. It is the ability to see possibilities where others see obstacles, to find common ground where differences prevail, and to have the confidence to move forward even when the path is not yet clear,” he said.

He added that “I really believe that the lamps of Diwali capture the essence of a fitting image for the relationship between Cyprus and India”.

“Each, in its own region, can serve as a beacon of hope, stability, and progress, illuminating a path towards a brighter future, and just as the light of many lamps makes the celebration of Diwali all the more powerful, our partnership can amplify the positive contribution both countries make beyond their borders,” he said.

He then added that in the 64 years since Cyprus and India first established diplomatic relations, “we have laid foundations of trust, mutual respect and solidarity”.

“Today, through closer cooperation in shipping, trade, investment, defence, technology, innovation and connectivity, we are building a partnership with tangible substance and strategic relevance,” he said.

India visit ‘strengthened conviction’ of potential of India ties

On this front, he made reference to his trip to India in May, which he said “strengthened my conviction that our relationship has a potential far greater than the distance separating our two countries might suggest”.

“I was particularly struck by the extraordinary energy of India, its confidence in shaping its future, and, above all, the warmth and openness with which Cyprus was received,” he said, before adding that his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi “reaffirmed a shared determination to elevate our friendship to a new level”.

To this end, he said that “our ambition is to connect India’s extraordinary global reach with Cyprus’ European dimension, strategic position and expertise”, and that he also aims to “create new commercial opportunities, deepen our strategic engagement and bring our people closer together”.

He then said that the European Union’s new free trade agreement with India, which is set to be signed in Brussels next month, will “offer a historic opportunity to strengthen our partnership with the world’s largest democracy, boost trade and investment, and create new opportunities for our businesses and citizens on both sides”.

“My vision is for India and Cyprus to be measured not by the distance between them, but by the bridges they build together. We have already demonstrated that India and Cyprus are two partners capable of making geography work in their favour; turning their respective strengths into shared opportunity and friendship into lasting achievement,” he said.

He added that he is “really convinced that the most important bridges of our relationship are still ahead of us”.

“Perhaps that is also the deeper message of Diwali: the light we create together can reach much further than the light either of us could create alone,” he said.