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The multinational civil-military cooperation exercise "ARGONAYTES 2023", which started on Monday, May 15, 2023, and in which diplomatic and military personnel from 19 countries and the EEAS participated, ended on Friday, May 19, 2023.
The exercise was conducted by the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Civil Defence Force and the Rescue Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (RSRC), under the general coordination of the General Coordination of the General Staff and with the participation of a large number of state institutions and services of the Republic of Cyprus.
It took place in the sea, air and land space of the Republic of Cyprus and in addition to the participants, assets from a number of countries were used, including Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In the framework of the exercise, the Special National Plans "ESTIA" and "TEYKROS" were implemented concerning the reception of civilians from neighbouring areas, as well as the response to Search and Rescue incidents within the area of responsibility of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively participated in this year's exercise, with the contribution of diplomats and Ministry officials who took on important roles in the civilian evacuation and mock case resolution scenarios. Particular emphasis this year was placed on lessons learned from the evacuation of civilians from Sudan, including the implementation of the National Plan "ESTIA", under which 2,611 civilians from 28 countries were evacuated through Cyprus.
This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also responsible for the organization of the "Distinguished Visitors' Day", which was addressed by the Director of the Directorate for Schengen, Consular Affairs and Crisis Management, Ambassador Omiros Mavrommatis, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the "Distinguished Visitors' Day", the "ESTIA" Plan, as well as scenarios for its implementation, was presented in the presence of ambassadors and military attachés of foreign countries, representatives of ministries, institutions and services, as well as representatives of consular and military authorities.
In his speech, Mr. Mavrommatis expressed, among other things, his appreciation to all the countries and agencies that took part in Exercise "Argonauts 2023", noting that the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus in cooperation with the Embassies and other relevant agencies act and react to possible scenarios concerning issues that may arise during an evacuation operation, terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, medical emergencies and others. He underlined the importance of Cyprus' geographical location and the adequacy of its infrastructure and services, not only with regard to the evacuation of civilians from the Eastern Mediterranean, but also from elsewhere, as was the case with Sudan.
(MF/MB)
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