India welcomes Cyprus support for NSG bid

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed Cyprus' support to India's bid for membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades also reaffirmed support for the "enhancement of the representative character" of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with India as a permanent member in the expanded body.

He also emphasised on making the UNSC "more effective, efficient and representative of the contemporary geopolitical challenges".

The two leaders also supported forward movement on the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reform and reiterated their commitment to make continuous efforts to move towards text-based negotiations.

"Both leaders underlined their shared interest in strengthening global non-proliferation objectives. In this context, Prime Minister Modi appreciated the support of Cyprus to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

"India's membership will enable it to contribute further to global non-proliferation objectives," a joint statement released by the ministry of external affairs said.

The two sides exchanged views on developments in their respective regions and on international issues of common concern, most notably the fight against international terrorism, it said.

They also discussed ways to reinforce measures to stem the financing of terrorism and disrupt the revenue stream towards terrorist groups, the statement said.

During their delegation-level talks yesterday, Modi and Anastasiades had strongly pitched for decisive action against states supporting, sheltering and sustaining "violence factories" in their regions.

"The two sides welcomed the recent adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2347 (2017), aiming to combat the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, religious sites and artifacts, and the smuggling of cultural property by terrorist groups during armed conflict," the statement added.

Both countries also shared the view that the successful conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by India at the UN, remains a priority and will be a decisive step to further strengthen the global normative framework that will support vigorous international action against terrorism.

Anastasiades is on a five-day visit to India which concludes today.