The Minister of Defence, Mr. Michael Yiorgallas, who is in Brussels for the joint meeting of EU Foreign and Defence Ministers and the Schuman Security and Defence Forum, made the following statement to the media today. Cyprus supports the strengthening of the common defence by participating in joint EU military operations as part of this effort.
In the margins of the Summit, I signed, on behalf of Cyprus, the declaration of the launch of the "Joint Procurement" programme for joint orders of military equipment, which the European Defence Agency has undertaken to implement, with the aim of meeting the needs of Member States for ammunition and other materials through joint purchases and procurement.
During my stay in Brussels I also took part in the 1st Schuman Conference on the Security and Defence of the EU.
During my stay in Brussels I also took part in the 1st Schuman Conference on EU Security and Defence. In the presence of representatives from 40 foreign countries and with the participation of international organisations we saw the need to work together to achieve conditions of security and stability, both in the EU and in the rest of the world.
On the sidelines of the Conference I had the opportunity to meet with Defence Ministers from countries with which Cyprus is implementing defence agreements.
The meeting with the Deputy Minister of Defence of Egypt, the Chief of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia and of course the meeting with the friendly Minister of Defence of Serbia with whom we confirmed the excellent level of defence cooperation between Cyprus and Serbia.
We agreed to develop it further and to meet again in the near future.
We agreed to develop it further and to meet again in the near future. In addition, I met with the Minister of Defence of Greece, Mr. Nikos Panagiotopoulos, with whom we exchanged views on all issues and agreed to meet on the 24th of this month in Athens."
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