The partnership of India and Cyprus is “entering its most promising chapter”, Maharashtra state chief minister Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis said on Thursday, as he opened the Cyprus-India business forum in the capital city of his state, Mumbai.

He said that President Nikos Christodoulides’ state visit to India, which began in India on Wednesday, “carries deep significance” and “represents the arrival of a new era in relations between India and Cyprus”.

That new era, he said, will be “driven by economic confidence and a shared vision for the future”.

“While we may be separate geographically, history has blessed us with the same values. We both emerged from the struggles of colonialism, and we both share belief in democracy, respect for sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence,” he said.

He then spoke about the friendship between late Indian prime minister Jawarhalal Nehru and Cyprus’ founding president Archbishop Makarios III, saying that that relationship was “built on trust, solidarity, and a shared belief in a fairer world order”.

“Cyprus has remained one of India’s most steadfast friends in Europe, and India has stood by Cyprus on matters of principle and international law,” he said, before adding that the relationship between the two countries has been “sustained not only by time, but by consistency”.

To this end, he referred to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus last year, describing it as “historic”, and saying that it “opened a completely new chapter in relations between India and Cyprus and created fresh momentum for deeper economic collaboration” between the two countries.

Additionally, he said, this relationship is “evolving into something even more substantial”, speaking of a “corridor connecting Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Indian growth story”.

In this, he was alluding to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec), and on this front, he said that “global supply chains are being redrawn”, while at the same time, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and financial technology – known as fintech – are “transforming the economy”.

He said that as such, countries and trading blocs across the world are “looking for trusted partners, stable markets, and trusted dynamic ecosystems”, and that while this is happening, “India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world”.

“India is not merely participating in the global economy any more. India is helping to shape it, and Maharashtra is helping to lead in that transformation,” he said, while pointing out that his state’s economy is worth US$60 billion and represents 40 per cent of foreign direct investment in India.

He added that Mumbai is “becoming one of the world’s most dynamic economic centres”, and that “beyond statistics, we are building infrastructure and economic systems which will define the next 50 years”, including expanded roads and a redeveloped Mumbai airport.

“We are creating the country’s most iconic projects … We are emerging as a centre for fintech, for artificial intelligence, for data centres, for electric mobility, for defence manufacturing, and for clean energy,” he said.

He added that “we believe in execution, we believe that speed is the new skill, we believe policy must inspire confidence, and we believe governments must inspire creativity”.

Cyprus, he said, “occupies a unique space, a gateway to Europe, which is linked to the Middle East”, while he also praised the island’s financial services and shipping centres.

At the same time, he added, Maharashtra is “the gateway to India’s economic future”, and that therefore, a deepening of relations between Cyprus and the state “is therefore strategic”.

“I firmly believe that the next decade can see an extraordinary expansion in our relations,” he said.

He then spoke of how Cyprus is a “globally respected maritime power” and with this in mind, said that Maharashtra is “rapidly expanding its ports and maritime infrastructure” with the help of investment from Cypriot companies.

Those investments, he said, “demonstrate momentous confidence in India’s future and the enormous untapped potential between us”.

“India’s public infrastructure has become a global model and collaboration between India’s financial ecosystem and Cyprus, with its access to the European single market, can open new doors,” he said.

“What makes India special today is the confidence of our people. India is young, India is young, India is ambitious, India is entrepreneurial. Maharashtra welcomes you as long term partners in growth. You will find a government which is stable, opportune, and decisive. The partnership between India and Cyprus is entering its most promising chapter.”