UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Joint Statement on the State Visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus

Q1. During President Christodoulides's May 2026 State Visit, how many formal joint documents—other than the individual sectoral MoUs—were issued by India and Cyprus?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q2. The May 2026 State Visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to India was undertaken at the invitation of which one of the following?

  • A. The President of India
  • B. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  • C. The Vice-President of India
  • D. The External Affairs Minister of India

Q3. In diplomatic protocol, the term 'State Visit'—the category assigned to President Christodoulides's May 2026 visit to India—is best defined as:

  • A. A visit at the highest protocol level, made by a Head of State on the formal invitation of the host country's Head of State
  • B. A visit by a Head of Government primarily to attend a multilateral summit hosted by the country
  • C. A visit by a minister for negotiating a specific bilateral agreement, without ceremonial honours
  • D. An informal, unannounced visit by a foreign leader in transit through the host country

Q4. The 'Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III' conferred on Prime Minister Modi during his June 2025 visit to Cyprus is best described as:

  • A. The highest civilian honour of the Republic of Cyprus
  • B. The highest military decoration of the Republic of Cyprus
  • C. The highest civilian award conferred by the European Union
  • D. An ecclesiastical honour of the Church of Cyprus with no state status

Q5. The MoU signed with Eurobank Cyprus during PM Modi's June 2025 visit, enabling cross-border payments through India's UPI, was concluded on the Indian side by which entity?

  • A. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
  • B. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)
  • C. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
  • D. The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)

Q6. Cyprus's 2026 rotating Presidency, which gave India a diplomatic entry point into EU-level engagement, is the Presidency of which one of the following EU institutions?

  • A. The European Commission
  • B. The European Parliament
  • C. The Council of the European Union
  • D. The European Council

Q7. The member state holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union—as Cyprus did during the May 2026 visit—performs which one of the following lead functions?

  • A. It chairs the meetings of the Council's various configurations and drives its agenda
  • B. It heads the European Commission and its Directorates-General
  • C. It presides over the sittings of the European Parliament
  • D. It commands the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy in place of the High Representative

Q8. The UNFICYP force, whose mandate both sides reaffirmed in the May 2026 Joint Statement, operates under the authority of which organisation?

  • A. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
  • B. The European Union
  • C. The United Nations
  • D. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)