The signing ceremony of the Declaration of Intent between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and the National Guard of the State of New Jersey, USA at the military level took place today at the Presidential Palace. The ceremony inaugurated the inclusion of the National Guard in the State Partnership Program (SPP).

The Declaration of Intent was signed by the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis, and the Commander of the National Guard of the State of New Jersey, Brigadier Lisa J. Hou, in the presence of the Minister of Defence, Mr. Michalis Giorgallas, and the Ambassador of the United States of America in Cyprus, Mrs. Julie Fisher. The said ceremony is part of an official visit to Cyprus by officials of the State of New Jersey from March 28 to 30, 2023.

We warmly welcome to Cyprus the delegation from @NJNationalGuard @USNationalGuard as we will boost our defence and security cooperation and establish a long term and enduring partnership between 🇨🇾 and 🇺🇸. #SPP30 https://t.co/Br365yA0pc

— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceCyprus) March 29, 2023

The ceremony was attended by the former Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Charalambos Petridis, political and military leadership, high-ranking officials of the State of New Jersey as well as the Director of European and NATO Affairs of the USA, Mr. Andrew L. Winternitz.

Through the State Partnership Program, cooperation between the New Jersey National Guard and the Cypriot National Guard has been launched.

Objectives of the cooperation include inter alia, the development of expertise and capabilities in specific military areas such as: communications, intelligence, cyberdefence, medical procedures, explosive device disposal, military police, personnel training, leadership development, disaster response support, and search and rescue operations.

Also read: USA – Cyprus cooperation | The National Guard enters the SPP program

For his part, the Minister of Defence, Mr. Michalis Giorgallas, referred to the contribution of the former Ministers of Defence, Mr. Savva Angelidis and Mr. Charalambos Petridis, who initiated the process of submitting an application to the said program.

The Minister added that in the last two years the ambition to create a mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America was being fulfilled gradually, mentioning some of the recent highlights such as:

• access to the International Military Education Program for Cypriot officers
• the signing of the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement
• the lifting of the US arms embargo on both lethal and non-lethal materials.

Mr. Giorgallas pointed out that in recent years Cyprus has implemented a dynamic defence policy by promoting a closer regional defence cooperation with the US, its European partners, and its regional neighbors, being indeed a pillar of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Republic of Cyprus is only the 2nd partner of the  National Guard of New Jersey in the program in question, a collaboration that adds value to the existing bilateral cooperation with the USA, at a time when Cyprus-US relations have never been stronger, the Minister concluded.

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