Cyprus, Greece and Jordan agree to hold military exercises

Cyprus, Greece and Jordan agreed on Wednesday to set in motion procedures for the holding of joint military exercises.

The decision was taken by the defence ministers of Cyprus and Greece Charalambos Petrides and Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, and Major General Yousef Al-Hnaity, Chairman of Jordan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff at a meeting in Nicosia.

This was the first trilateral defence ministers meeting between the three countries, initiating a defence cooperation, a joint statement said.

The ministers highlighted that the trilateral defence cooperation is based on the principles of the Joint Statement of the Third Trilateral Summit of Hellenic Republic – Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – Republic of Cyprus on July 28, 2021.

They agreed on establishing a joint committee to prepare and arrange for future meetings and signing of a trilateral cooperation programme which will include military exercises and training of their Air Force, Navy and Special Forces.

The Ministers also reiterated their commitment to further strengthen international and regional efforts to combat terrorism and radicalisation.

The next meeting will be held in Jordan in 2022.

In statements to the media, Cyprus’ defence minister said that the relations between the three countries were long-standing and solid, as they were built over the years in pursuit of a better, more secure future.

“We had the opportunity to discuss and exchange views on the procedures to institutionalise and active the trilateral mechanism on issues of defence and security and ways of cooperation of the armed forces on a trilateral level,” he said.