A defense cooperation agreement between France and Cyprus, three years in the making, is now in force, the Cypriot government announced this week.

The two-year agreement "provides for cooperation in the fields of armaments and defense technology, and staff training in France's military schools," officials said.

Leaders also agreed to "hold joint exercises and organize mutual visits in the framework of activities of the armed forces of the two countries," Charlambos Petridis, current Cypriot defense minister, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, former Cypriot Defense Minister Savvas Angelides announced improvements to a navy base in the port of Limassol to accommodate French military vessels.

The agreement calls for improved teamwork between Paris and Nicosia in defense technology and search and rescue execution.

Non-military elements of the agreement include cooperation in dealing with energy, maritime security, terrorism and piracy. It was signed in 2017 and put into force of Aug. 1, 2020, the two governments said on Friday.

Cyprus, an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, is a European Union member, but not a NATO member. Its military uses aircraft made by several countries, including France.

The agreement is part of an effort by France to exercise more influence in the region.

In July, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades met with French President Emmanuel Macron, prompting Macron to call on the EU to come down harder on Turkey for provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

"Macron is working toward that direction," Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said of France's aspiration to wield more influence. He added that Macron will lead a meeting of seven southern EU member states in Paris at the end of August.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Sudanese troops killed in clash with rebels
Khartoum (AFP) Aug 7, 2020
Sudanese troops and civilians were killed in a clashes with a rebel group in the country's south, an army statement said Friday, without specifying the number of casualties. "Rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) attacked nomadic herders on their migration route from the south to the north and soldiers securing a road, ambushing them and planting mines" in the South Kordofan region on Thursday, the statement said. Asa a result there were a number of wounded and "many de ... read more