The excellent cooperation on defence and security issues between Cyprus and Jordan was praised by the Ministers of Defence, Justice and Agriculture during a ceremony at the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos on Thursday to thank Jordan for its assistance in extinguishing the recent fires in Cyprus. In addition to referring to the good level of bilateral relations, they said that cooperation on firefighting issues will be strengthened, noting the creation of a regional aerial firefighting station, promoted by the two countries.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Minister of Defence, Michalis Giorgallas expressed his sincere thanks to Jordan, for its support and valuable help. “As you know Cyprus and Jordan have a robust military defence cooperation and we are working toward the establishment of an airborne fire station here in Cyprus”, the minister said, adding that he looks forward to seeing all present as personnel in this station.

In statements on the sidelines of the ceremony, the Defence Minister said Cyprus and Jordan have a very good cooperation on issues of security and defence, adding that during President Nikos Christodoulides’ recent visit to Jordan an agreement to create an airborne fire station base was signed.

Already, he added, the first actions towards the EU to financially contribute to this goal have been made.

He also said that Jordan and Cyprus are two forces in the region as regards participation and contribution to regional issues.

One of them is the fight against fires, he said, noting that "this cooperation, which was strengthened with the participation of the Jordanians in our effort, will continue and will be to the benefit of other countries in the region in terms of dealing with fires and the impact of climate change.”

In her remarks, Justice and Public Order Minister Anna Koukkides-Procopiou thanked the Jordanian delegation noting the Fire Service is under the ministry's jurisdiction.

“What makes Cyprus safer is having a good team on board" she said referring to the firefighters "and we have a good team on board. I was glad to hear this from your side this morning how effective our firefighting teams have been. But on the other hand, we also need good allies so I would like to thank you once more on behalf of the government for your efforts to be with us as quickly as possible and to operate with us side by side as effectively as possible.”

She said she hoped the remaining of the summer will be quieter adding “if there is any need rest assured, we will be by your side.”

Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, Petros Xenofontos, thanked the Jordanian charge d’affaires for Jordan’s immediate assistance to help in firefighting. “Your mission and your participation to firefighting protect human lives, protect houses, our forests are valuable. Thank you very much for what you have done in these five days in Cyprus.”

In remarks, Jordan’s charge d’affaires, Walid Al Qazaz, said the presence of the Jordanian firefighters here in Cyprus is a clear testament to the strong relationships Jordan has with Cyprus .

“We have good relationships that cover almost all areas, we have strong cooperation, we have exchanges of visits at all levels, his excellency the President of Cyprus visited Jordan earlier this month, his majesty [King Abdullah II of Jordan] visited Cyprus in December 2021” adding that many agreements and MOUs have been signed. “We are always standing by the side of our friendly Cypriot neighbours. We hope we don't see the wild fires again but in case it happens again, be sure that we are by the side of our Cypriot neighbours and friends.”

At the same time, he said “the uncontrollable fire in Cyprus and before in Greece, Portugal, Canada, Algeria and many other places in the world, send a new wake up call to humanity that we might fight against climate change and make every effort possible to reverse course”.

In his speech, he said the gathering “is very relevant as it comes on the heels of a challenging period and a hard time where approximately ten square km of forest and rural lands have been charred by wild fires”.  Referring to President Christodoulides’ recent visit and King Abdullah II’s visit in December 2021, he said several agreements and MOUs have been signed while the two countries also cooperate on a trilateral level with Greece.

He praised the Cypriot firefighters’ for their competence and self-sacrifice. “This has led to contain and put out the huge fires in a record time with zero human casualties. Thank you and long live the Jordanian-Cypriot friendship”, he added.