Soldiers from the United States’ state of New Jersey’s national guard conducted training courses for non-commissioned officers from Cyprus’ national guard, according to an announcement on Saturday.

The Cypriot national guard said training was given “in the subjects of leadership, military decision-making, crisis management and other administrative procedures”, and that the courses were carried out at the Patroklos Kokkinos army base near the Larnaca village of Mosfiloti.

It added that the courses were “part of a broader programme of continuous upgrading of the role of non-commissioned officers.

“The national guard places particular emphasis on the continuous professional training and individual development of non-commissioned officers, continuing to establish partnerships with academic and military institutions and introducing new programmes which meet modern requirements,” it said.

It added that the support offered by personnel from New Jersey was “particularly beneficial” because it “raises the level of cooperation and interoperability between the two countries”.

This cooperation, it added, “enables non-commissioned officers to become familiar with international standards, enhancing their professional development”.

The carrying out of the training programmes comes as military ties between Cyprus and the US continue to deepen, with Cyprus having been authorised earlier this year to buy military hardware directly from the United States government after joining three programmes run by the country’s department of defence.

The country was incorporated into the US defence security cooperation agency’s foreign military sales (FMS) programme, its excess defence articles (EDA) programme, and will be allocated resources under the US’ Title 10 security assistance provisions.

It is the inclusion into the FMS programme which will allow the government to purchase military hardware directly from the US government, with the country previously having only been able to buy US military hardware from private companies.

Being able to circumvent private companies will allow the government to buy weapons and other hardware at cheaper prices than before, given that the US government typically acquires its apparatus in bulk, and is thus able to sell it on for cheaper prices than what private companies would offer to a military of the National Guard’s size.