Announcing the elevation of their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, India and Cyprus wish to open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The announcement came after talks between PM Modi and visiting Cyprus President Nicos Christodoulides in New Delhi. According to senior Cypriot officials, both sides are looking to promote bilateral investment, including Indian investment in Cyprus in sectors ranging from defense to tourism.Given Cyprus’ geostrategic position on the edge of West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the conflict in Iran, Nicosia wants to enhance its defense capabilities using financial assistance from the EU SAFE program – Cyprus is entitled to a loan of 1.2 billion euros under this item. Importantly, not being a NATO member, Cyprus enjoys greater flexibility in defense procurement as opposed to rigid NATO standards. This opens up opportunities for Indian defense manufacturers. Plus, the elephant in the room is the turkey. India fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus. This situation overshadows the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Additionally, since India’s Operation Sindoor last year and Türkiye’s overt and covert stance towards Pakistan, New Delhi-Ankara relations have cooled. This in turn is providing impetus to geo-strategic projects such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor or IMEC, which Ankara opposes. IMEC has received further impetus in the light of the Iran war, which has promoted the search for alternative trade routes and supply chains. Cyprus, as the entry point to Europe, is a key pillar of IMEC. Notably, there is no Chinese stake in Cyprus ports. At the same time, as Cyprus has worked to virtually eliminate the Russian stake in the Cyprus banking system – Russian deposits have declined from 87% to about 1% – Nicosia has given strong, principled support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression against that country. Nicosia is now looking to begin construction of IMEC’s ​​foundational blocks, particularly through attractive private investment. True, the Iran war and the existing complications between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates act as obstacles. That is why Cyprus is ready to start work on the European part of the corridor first. For India, IMEC presents a huge opportunity, especially in the light of the recent India-EU Free Trade Agreement. But competing trade corridors such as China’s Belt and Road could undermine IMEC’s ​​takeoff. The China-Pakistan-Russia-Türkiye corridor directly challenges the US-backed India-Middle East-Cyprus-Europe. In this backdrop, India and Cyprus are coming together to secure supply chains, diversify trade routes and promote regional security, acting as a counter force against China’s weaponisation of economic interdependence, Turkey’s maneuvers in West Asia and Pakistan’s machinations.