On 4-5 June, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq travelled to Cyprus for a two-days working visit. During the visit, Mr Domecq met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, and the Minister of Defence, Mr. Savvas Angelides, for discussions on EU defence initiatives as well as Cyprus’ current and potential future contributions to EDA projects and programmes. Minister Angelides announced during the visit that Cyprus would participate in the Agency’s Military Search Capability Building project in the domain of Countering-Improvised Explosive Devices.
During the meeting with the Minister of Defence, discussions included the general state of play regarding the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence including the revision of the Capability Development Plan (CDP), the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation on security and defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund, with focus of the discussions on EDA's role.
Minister Angelides and Chief Executive Domecq also exchanged views on EU-NATO cooperation as well as regional and broader priorities on security and defence. Chief Executive Domecq highlighted, “EDA supports all Member States, irrespective of their size, in order to develop the capabilities they need now and in the future. I very much welcome Cyprus’ active involvement in EDA projects; and I want to reiterate that EDA is there to support and to contribute to an enhanced security environment for Cypriot citizens.”
At a joint press point, Minister Angelides emphasised the close cooperation between Cyprus and EDA. He said, “We strongly believe that the European Defence Agency is a trusted European facilitator in the domain of the development of military capabilities and a powerful locus for cooperation between the Member States in this crucial sector. EDA has so far managed to illustrate its pivotal role in the European defence cooperation while its achievements constitute a solid proof of its outstanding efforts. Cyprus appreciates the role of the EDA and is actively engaged for supporting the Agency in accomplishing its mission.”
Chief Executive Domecq and Minister Angelides also discussed Cyprus’ involvement in ongoing EDA projects with focus on cyber defence, C-IEDs, energy and environment, protection of critical infrastructure and satellite communications as well as projects in the maritime domain where Cyrpus takes a proactive role.
During his visit, Mr Domecq also had the occasion to meet with other high-level officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence as well as representatives of Cypriot academia and research centers.