The continuous strengthening of the Navy through a balanced development process of the branches of the National Guard is our vision, Defense Minister Charalambos Petridis said today, adding that the navy participates in a large number of multinational exercises and proves worthy of our expectations.
In his greeting at the celebration on the occasion of the feast of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of the Navy, held at the "Evangelos Florakis" Naval Base in Mari, the Minister stated that "the Navy, and in general the National Guard has high-level human resources , which when required proves its ability to cope with the challenges that arise, with high morale, loyalty to the mission and above all love for the country".
He added that "our personnel, within the framework of the defense partnerships we have entered into as a Ministry of Defense with friendly countries to maintain and enhance security and cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean, participate in a large number of multinational exercises and prove worthy of our expectations. Within 2022, naval cooperation exercises have been carried out with the Navy of France, the United States of America and the Navy of Italy."
As the Minister said, "the aeronautical exercises "Noble Dina 2022", "Eunomia 3 - 2022", "Medusa 12", "Orion 22" and "Agapinor 2022" have also taken place with the participation of Greece, the USA, France, of Israel, Egypt, Italy and Bulgaria".
He also noted that "in the framework of strengthening the interoperability between the Special Operations Teams of the USA and Cyprus, through the exchange of tactics, techniques and procedures used, with the aim of improving the readiness of the naval forces in the region, joint training between Special Operations Teams was carried out, among other things of Operations (OEE) of the Undersea Disaster Unit (SDU) of the Navy Command and the US Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Europe".
The Minister of Defense also stated that "the presence of means and personnel of friendly countries in the region, as is the case these days with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, interoperability and frequent co-training with advanced armies only have a positive impact, since they lend prestige to the Republic of Cyprus and provide expertise to National Guard officers."
At the same time, he continued, "they send the message that our defense partnerships remain strong, with the aim of strengthening security and ensuring free navigation in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, which we seek to transform into an area of Naval interest for the European Union. We also discussed this in the recent quadripartite meeting I had with the Ministers of Defense of Greece, France and Italy, on the sidelines of the work of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the European Union".
Referring to the issue of humanitarian missions and search and rescue operations, Charalambos Petridis said that "the Navy in collaboration with the Search and Rescue Coordination Center participated in the "Argonaut 2022" and "Nemesis 2022" exercises, certifying and confirming the role played by Republic of Cyprus in the region as a pillar of security, stability and cooperation. In the various calls for assistance the navy is ready to act where required within the area of responsibility of the Republic of Cyprus".
He also said that "as part of the modernization and strengthening of the Navy and our coastal defenses, our anti-ship capabilities have been enhanced, the Coastal Surveillance System has been expanded with additional cameras and new search and rescue vessels and equipment for the Submarine Disaster Unit have been purchased. We are also in the final stages of planning to upgrade the Naval Base, so that it will be able to serve warships of foreign countries as well."
Our vision, noted the Minister of Defense, is "the continuous strengthening of the Navy through a balanced development process of the branches of the National Guard".
At the same time, he congratulated the Navy Commander and all the staff for the beneficial work they are doing and invited them to continue "with the same zeal, selflessness, determination and confidence, under the auspices of Agios Nikolaos".
The ceremony to celebrate the patron of the Navy, which began with a eulogy by Metropolitan Trimythoundos Varnavas, was attended by, among others, the Chief of the National Guard Dimokritos Zervakis, political, state and military officials, while tribute was paid to the personnel who gave their lives in defense of homeland.
The Minister of Defense, accompanied by the Chief of the Greek Armed Forces and the Commander of the Navy Captain Konstantinos Gennadiou, boarded the open sea warship "Ioannidis" where a wreath was thrown into the sea.
The ceremony ended with a guided tour of the weapons systems that were invited to the exhibition.