The Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis, accompanied by a two-member delegation, paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 19 to 21 February 2023, following an invitation from his UAE counterpart, Lieutenant General Issa Al Mazrouei, on the occasion of the IDEX and NAVDEX 2023 international defence equipment exhibitions, as well as the IDC 2023 International Defence Conference, held in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
On Sunday, 19 February 2023, the Chief attended the proceedings of the IDC 2023 Conference. The conference was opened by the Minister of State responsible for Defence Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Bin Ahmad Al Bawardi, with whom the Chief had a brief meeting, conveying to him the greetings of the Minister of Defence, Mr. Haralambos Petridis. The conference also featured as speakers, among others, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Mr. Suhail Bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei and Minister of Artificial Intelligence Mr. Omar Sultan Al Olama.
The main theme of this year's conference was "Adaptation, Exploration, Transformation. Through the papers presented by distinguished speakers from several countries, as well as representatives of academia and the defense industry, the importance of international cooperation to address the challenges emerging in defense and security issues with the introduction of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies that are significantly impacting and diversifying the current field of military operations was highlighted. On the sidelines of the Conference, the Chief had the opportunity to exchange views with his participating counterparts and other official guests.
On Monday, 20 February 2023, Lieutenant General Zervakis attended the opening ceremony of IDEX & NAVDEX 2023, which was graced by the presence of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who welcomed and greeted the official guests in turn.
He then toured the exhibition hall and was briefed on developments in the defence industry. In addition, he visited the Greek pavilion, where he was briefed by the Director General of the Directorate General of Defence Equipment and Investments, Vice Admiral (retired) Aristides Alexopoulos, as well as the corresponding area of the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) in Crete.
On the same day, the Chief gave an interview to the UAE Defence Forces magazine "Nation Shield", where he referred to the bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and the UAE, noting that the two countries have common interests and respective challenges and the cooperation that has been developed in the political and military field is mutually beneficial, both for the two countries and for the wider region.
On 21 February 2023, the Chief held a bilateral meeting with the UAE Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Issa Al Mazrouei. During this meeting, a common will to implement the Bilateral Defense Cooperation Program (BDCP) for 2023, signed on 22 December 2022 in Nicosia, was recorded, as well as exploring the possibility of designing other actions of mutual interest. At the same time, the common challenges as well as the importance of this cooperation as a starting point for the development of a long-term, lasting, strong and strategic relationship between the two countries' armed forces were identified. A similar meeting was held with the Chiefs of Navy and Air Force, Rear Admiral Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan and Lieutenant General Ibrahim Nassar Mohammed Al Alawi, where an exchange of views was held on actions included in the IDA and relevant to their respective branches. The Chief also had a formal meeting with the former Chief of General Staff and current Advisor on Military Affairs to the President of the UAE, Lieutenant General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi.
Subsequently, on the same day, the Chief had a private meeting with the Vice President and Minister of Defence of Serbia, Mr. Milos Vucevic. During this meeting, Lieutenant General Zervakis, after conveying the greetings of the Minister of Defence, Mr. Haralambos Petridis, referred to the cooperation with Serbia on armament issues and expressed the agreement on the implementation of the activities set out in the 2023 PPA, which was signed on 21 December 2022 in Nicosia.
The Chief's program included a meeting with the Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Osama Asker, where the security challenges in the region and the will to implement the existing MoU, as well as the corresponding trilateral agreement with Greece were recorded, confirming once again the dynamics of bilateral and trilateral military cooperation and, in general, the catalytic role of cooperation between the countries of the region in maintaining regional stability and peace. At the same time, the potential for cooperation in other areas was also recorded.
In the framework of the exhibition, he had a brief meeting with Oman's Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Abdullah bin Khamis bin Abdullah Al Ra'Eesi, to whom, among other things, the Chief extended an invitation to participate in the "ARGONAYTES - 2023" exercise to be held in Cyprus in May.
On 21 February 2023, the Chief visited the Martyrs and Heroes Memorial "Wahat Al Karama", where he was received by Sheikh Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, and after laying a wreath to pay tribute, he was given a tour of the site by Sheikh Al Nahyan and informed about the history and the religious and historical significance of the Memorial for the UAE people.
The Chief, as part of his presence in the UAE, visited the American University of the Emirates, where he was first briefed by the President Dr. Muthanna G. Abdul Razzaq and members of the Board of Governors (BoG) on the educational work of the University. He then delivered a lecture to professors and graduate students of the Faculty of Defence and International Studies in the presence of the Chairman of the Board, Dean of the Faculty Dr. Chahine A. Ghais and a group of professors on the topic " Mediterranean Security Environment: a new paradigm". In addition to the main topic of the lecture, there was a discussion and exchange of views with the faculty and students regarding geopolitical developments related to the Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean region, as well as broader security issues.
Part of the official contacts in the UAE was also attended by the Ambassador of the RoC to the UAE, Mr. Yannis Michaelides, with whom the Chief had a private meeting, during which, in addition to the IDA, issues related to the bilateral cooperation of the RoC with the UAE and the other countries of the region were discussed at a broader political and diplomatic level. A similar meeting was held with the Ambassador of the RoC to Qatar Mr. Nicolas Manolis during his short stay in Doha, Qatar, as a stopover to the UAE.
The Chief's visit highlighted the importance of the extensive network of international partnerships and initiatives developed by the National Guard under the directions of the Ministry of Defence, which contribute to upgrading its operational capabilities while promoting security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
(MB/SX)
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