Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz was on the island on Tuesday to attend part of the large bilateral military exercise Agapinor, which started on the island on Sunday.
Director general of the defence ministry Andreas Louka and national guard chief Lieutenant Demokritos Zervakis met the Israeli minister at Paphos international airport on behalf of Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides.
The large-scale military exercise involved Cyprus and Israel armed water, land and air forces.
According to the Jerusalem Post, before his arrival Gantz had written on Twitter that he had spoken to his “friend” and Cypriot counterpart Petrides with whom he had discussed the importance of the exercise.
“I stressed,” he wrote, “the military bond between our two countries that contributes to regional stability”.
The Israeli military forces are calling the exercise by a different name, Chariots of Fire.
It will finish on Thursday.
The defence ministry said the exercise was part of bilateral defence agreements with Israel, and shows the excellent relations between the two countries over the last few years in terms of defence and security.
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