Cyprus and the United States will “continue to develop” their bilateral cooperation in the field of defence, US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said on Tuesday.
Speaking after a meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides, she said she will now leave the island “with additional work that we can do together”, and that she is “determined to continue to develop the defence relationship” between the two countries.
She said the meeting was “a great opportunity for me to hear [Christodoulides’] strategic vision for the Republic of Cyprus and to understand his appreciation of our bilateral defence relationship.”
This relationship, she added, “has grown in enormous and significant ways over the past two years under [Christodoulides’] leadership.”
With this in mind, she said she had discussed with him opportunities to further bolster the existing cooperation programme between the New Jersey National Guard and the Cypriot National Guard, “looking at opportunities for professional military training, joint exercises, and training to acquire capabilities in specific manners.
“[Christodoulides] shared with me his understanding of the requirements of regional security and stability and the role that the US, in partnership with the Republic of Cyprus, can play in increasing that security and providing stability for the people of the region,” she added.
Wallander’s meeting with Christodoulides comes a day after she had signed a roadmap for bilateral defence cooperation with Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas.
At the signing, Palmas had said the roadmap constitutes “a strong indication of our commitment to further upgrade and deepen our relationship,” while Wallander had described it as an “important milestone”.
