Defence minister off to US on official visit

Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides will travel to the United States on Sunday for a working visit, marking a milestone in Cyprus-US relations as he will be the first Cypriot defence minister to visit the US in an official capacity.

During his visit there, Petrides is expected to meet with high level officials from the Pentagon, the State Department, the National Security Council, with delegates from the Cypriot expatriate community and will also participate in meetings with various think tanks.

Moreover, the minister will meet with Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks to discuss bilateral defence and military cooperation as well as international and regional matters.

Petrides will also be speaking at the New York Mediterranean Summit organised by The Economist.

The minister’s visit attests to the excellent and constantly evolving relations between the two countries in matters pertaining to defense and security.