Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLaNO) and his Cypriot counterpart Charalambos Petridis signed the memorandum on understanding between the two countries on Thursday.
The main goal of the document is to boost bilateral cooperation in the field of defence.
"For the first time in 20 years of cooperation, we managed to achieve a basic agreement on military cooperation, which will enable further deepening of cooperation in the field of training, modernisation of the armed forces and cooperation in the defence industry," stated Nad, adding that Slovakia's defence industry is successful in Cyprus, for example, thanks to the Zuzana Howitzers of the first generation. He added that Cypriots have expressed interest in their latest version. European issues were also on the agenda of the two ministers' talks.
The Cypriot minister stated that the Slovak visit comes at a critical time for Cyprus, when it faces provocations from the Turkish side of the island. He also praised Slovakia's contribution in the UNFICYP operation.
Source: TASR
