The Minister of Defence of Slovenia, Mr. Marjan Šarec, made a two-day working visit from January 31 – February 1, at the invitation of the Minister of Defence, Mr. Charalambos Petridis.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Defence, the visit is part of the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Slovenia, after the official visit of the President of the country to the Republic of Cyprus last March.

The main result of the visit is the signing of a Bilateral Agreement in the field of defence and the initiation of its implementation through a Military and Defence Cooperation program, with actions that will include joint exercises, training and exchange of personnel and know-how.

The signing of the agreement extends and further expands the cooperation of Cyprus with partner states within the EU.

The two Ministers had a private meeting and extended talks, in which they discussed issues of common interest, with an emphasis on the security situation in Europe and the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as issues of the EU’s common defence and security policy.

Mr. Petridis informed his Slovenian counterpart about the military security situation in the Republic of Cyprus, the ongoing Turkish provocations, the Turkish revisionist policy and the hybrid threats that Cyprus faces, especially through the instrumentalization of immigration.

It is noted that Cyprus and Slovenia have previously signed an Agreement for the Protection and Exchange of Classified Information and jointly participate in three programs to develop European capabilities within the framework of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).

Mr. Šarec was accompanied by the Chief of the Armed Forces of Slovenia, who held a meeting with the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis, and they discussed matters of common interest.

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