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General Mohamed Zaki,
Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defence and Military
Production of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr Charalambos Petrides, Minister
of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos,
Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic met in Cairo, on 20th
June, 2022, for the purpose of further promoting their joint defence and
military cooperation.
The Ministers of Defence
reviewed the progress of the defence and security cooperation and expressed
their appreciation of the joint accomplishments. They reaffirmed their common
will and determination to further develop coordination, cooperation and joint
endeavours to boost security and stability as well as to support the creation
of an environment in the Eastern Mediterranean conducive to growth well-being
and prosperity of their people.
The Ministers of Defence also
reviewed developments and perspectives concerning the security and strategic
conditions in the Middle East and East Mediterranean, as well as the tensions
affecting the security and stability of the broader region.
The Ministers Expressed their
concern and condemned any unilateral actions that violate the sovereignty,
sovereign rights and territorial integrity of any country in the wider East
Mediterranean region and highlighted that its necessary for all countries to
respect international law and the UN Charter, the UN convention on the law of
the sea (UNCLOS) and all other relevant agreements.
The Ministers of Defence have
agreed on a joint vision that supports the continuously increasing strategic
importance of the East Mediterranean in the present and future of the
portfolio of energy climate change and security, the security of
transportation lines and international maritime trade routes. They also
stressed the importance of their cooperation for enhancing the security of
energy supply, providing an additional source of energy supply of Europe.
they have recognized the military and security tasks and burdens that
necessitate boosting coordinate and cooperation efforts.
The Ministers of Defence of the
three countries expressed their deep concern about the restoration of
terrorist organizations and their activity in many conflict and tension
hotbeds in the Middle East and the African Sahel. At the same time, smuggling
with all its forms, illegal migration and human trafficking still pose a
constant challenge. Furthermore, the mercenaries phenomenon, the transfer of
foreign fighters and support for armed militias, all constitute a dangerous threat
to regional and international peace and security and impose further
responsibilities to cooperate and coordinate countermeasures against these
challenges.
The Ministers of Defence
cherished the efforts exerted by the Armed forces of the their countries to
implement the joint training programs for the three services (Army- Navy-Air
Force). They also discussed and welcomed the participation of friendly
countries in these exercises, which represent a cornerstone for coordination
and capabilities integration to enhance regional peace, security and
stability.
They stressed the importance of
international cooperation to contain global security tension, mitigate global
polarization and end armed conflicts immediately. The settlement of crises
through diplomatic and political means for avoiding long and
geographically-stressed confrontations that will harm the entire world,
particularly the developing countries in terms of securing their basic and
strategic needs of nutrition and energy security and defence requirements was
also highlighted.
The three Ministers of Defence
agreed on the following:
a. To intensify communications,
consultations, exchange of information, evaluations and coordination of joint
efforts to meet the scale of military and security challenges and threats
regionally as well as to satisfy the requirements of enhancing the security
and interests of the three countries.
b. To hold the next trilateral
meeting of Ministers of Defence of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus in Greece, in
2023.
(EK)
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