In the context of his official visit to Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Defence, Mr. Charalambos Petridis, held a series of meetings and contacts, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Defence.

Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, officially welcomed Mr. Petridis. During their meeting, the will of the two countries to upgrade relations in the field of Defence and Security was confirmed. 

The two Ministers exchanged views on broader security, with a focus on promoting peace and stability in the Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean region, while they also discussed the recent developments in Ukraine.

Earlier, Mr. Petridis had a meeting with the Chief of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, General Fayyadh Al Ruwaili, where they discussed future joint actions aimed at strengthening the relations between Armed Forces of the two countries. 

The Minister of Defence visited the World Defense Show Saudi Arabia, which is organized for the first time, and was informed about the latest technological developments in the field.

On the sidelines of his visit, he held talks with the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following up on regular bilateral consultations. Among other things, he had the opportunity to talk with the Defence Ministers of Bahrain, Tunisia and Morocco.

The Minister of Defence also gave an interview to the widely circulated Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat in which he noted that the Republic of Cyprus will continue to work to further upgrade and strengthen its bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia.

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