With speakers from nine organisations and 47 participants from 11 countries, the UN and the EU, a course on Diplomatic Skills for Common Security and Defence Policy is being held in Larnaca, organised by the Cyprus Security and Defence Academy and the West University of Timisoara, under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College, with the support of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, of the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Embassy in Cyprus.
Staff from the Defence Ministry, the National Guard, the Cyprus Police, as well as the House Defence committee are taking part in the seminar on the part of the Republic of Cyprus.
The week-long seminar’s ultimate goal is to support EU Member States, institutions and agencies, on personnel training, to be able to work efficiently in Common Security and Defence Policy, (CSDP) related fields at the operational and strategic levels, said in his speech Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Andreas Louka.
He further noted the MOD ‘is actively promoting the creation of a common European security and defence culture.’
In this context, he added, over the past two years, the Security and Defence Academy has organized 12 international training activities and conferences, with the support of local and international institutions, which have all been open to EU member states, as well as to other strategic partners from our neighbourhood.
Throughout these initiatives, he added, subjects of high interest and value were highlighted, which include Cyber Security, Climate Change and Security, Project Management in Missions and Operations, the Future of the EU Security and Defence, Leadership and Gender mainstreaming in Military training and in CSDP Missions and Operations.
He further said the MOD is promoting the idea and encouraging the Academy to co – organise events and training initiatives, with other National and Foreign actors, with which we share a common vision for a better and more secure world, based on common values and aspirations.
Louka said this is ‘our very first initiative with Romania in this field and we are confident that we will find the way to commence our future cooperation’.
In his speech, the Deputy Head of the European Commission Delegation in Cyprus, Nikolaos Isaris, stated that “it is important for the European Commission to have a common defence and security policy with the Member States. It is also very important to have education in both military and political missions so that they can use diplomatic skills to achieve the goals of our common policy.”
He added that “the European Union has recently adopted the ‘strategic compass’, which is essentially an action plan.”
It has, he said, “very specific actions from now until 2030 to strengthen its role in the defence and security sector, which has been less dynamic so far, to be able to mobilize troops if needed, and special teams and experts in conflict zones, and to develop its own intelligence by developing various tools for areas that were difficult to do so until now, such as in cyberspace.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency