Modi's visit to Cyprus, upgraded business relations with India, and Eurobank showing the way

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Cyprus is considered to be of outstanding importance on a political/diplomatic level, while, at the same time, it is also classified as being of outstanding importance in terms of the economic and business/investment cooperation framework between the two countries.

This is also demonstrated by the presence of the Indian Prime Minister, together with the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides, at a high-level business forum - under the auspices of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry, which will take place in Limassol next Sunday afternoon.

Modi's visit to the island comes at a time when economic/business relations between Cyprus and India are undergoing a period of continuous upgrading and are developing rapidly, in a manner that is entirely beneficial for the countries themselves as state entities, but of course also for their business communities, as new investment opportunities and prospects are being created on both sides.

A leading role and enormous contribution to the course of upgrading the business/investment relations between Cyprus and India, in addition to the long-standing efforts of both the Cyprus-India Business Association and Invest Cyprus, is undoubtedly played by the Eurobank Group, which, by proceeding with the investment of €1.3 billion in Hellenic Bank - which it fully acquired - set a clear goal for Cyprus from the outset:

To make our island a gateway for businesses from India to the European Union in a clear strategic direction integrated into the Group's broader goal of actively promoting the interconnection of capital and businesses between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

Indicative of Eurobank’s orientation in this direction is the fact that it is soon to open a representative office in Mumbai to facilitate the flow of capital and investments between the country's and European markets, while at the same time it has signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCI International for the operation of the Indian electronic payment system UPI in Greece.

And all this, while as far as Cyprus is concerned, the first tangible results of the entire effort are already visible and are reflected - among other things - in the recent arrival of two large Indian companies to the island.

LTIMindtree - a leading technology provider based in Mumbai - which inaugurated the Agentic AI and Digital Centre at the CYENS Centre of Excellence in Nicosia, as well as Thomas Cook India, a leading travel company, also based in Mumbai. Two giants in their sectors of activity, and with a shareholding connection to the Eurobank Group.

The creation of the IGC Business Council

Within the larger framework of Eurobank's contribution to strengthening Cyprus' business/investment relations with India, the India–Greece–Cyprus (IGC) Business & Investment Council naturally occupies a prominent place, which, having been inaugurated last February in Mumbai and subsequently in Greece, was also inaugurated in Cyprus about a month ago - in the presence of senior government officials and business leaders of the three countries.

The inauguration of the IGC in Cyprus essentially marked the first Business Forum co-organised in the country by Eurobank and the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which focused precisely on the strategic opportunities for investment and the consolidation of trade relations in the India- Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

It is recalled that the IMEC was launched on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in New Delhi in September 2023, with the aim of creating an alternative route of strategic importance for connecting India with the Middle East and Europe. Cyprus and Greece, in this context, have, as has been emphasised, strong geographical and other advantages towards developing into key hubs of this corridor.

It is worth noting that the establishment and operation of the IGC was the culmination of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding this purpose that Eurobank and the Indian Chamber of Commerce had signed last September in Athens, thus paving the way for the creation of the Business Council and by extension for the beginning of a new era for the trade and investment relations of Cyprus and Greece with the global economic power of India.

And this, as the IGC came to act as a catalyst for the release of new business opportunities, especially in sectors such as infrastructure, technology, renewable energy sources and shipping, having as its constituent organisations, bodies with experience and commitment to business cooperation and whose collective action constitutes a driving force for the promotion of international collaborations and the strengthening of economic development.

Pillars of the initiative with active participation, namely, leading organisations of the three countries, India-Greece-Cyprus, such as the Eurobank Group, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Invest Cyprus, the Cyprus-Indian Business Association, Enterprise Greece, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and Export Credit Greece.

"Eurobank has set as a priority..."

"In a rapidly changing world, opportunities do not wait. Eurobank has prioritised supporting the emergence of Greece and Cyprus as key channels for India's economic and trade relations with Europe and the exploitation of their enormous prospects," Eurobank CEO Fokion C. Karavias emphasised in an article recently published by InBusinessNews, in a clear depiction of the development orientation and extroversion that the Group aspires to, on the one hand, impart to the economies and, on the other, to cultivate for the businesses, respectively, of Cyprus and Greece.

In light of the above, Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Cyprus may dominate and be, as an event, a development of a mission of the utmost importance of political messages, but it does not cease to also be a strong demonstration of the correctness of Eurobank's strategic choice to invest in strengthening Cyprus' economic/business ties with India.

Because it is a visit that, as is expected, comes to seal and confirm the new era in the relations between the two countries, not only in the field of diplomacy, but also in the field of economy and business. With Eurobank, showing the way.

(Source: InBusinessNews)