Cyprus and Israel on Wednesday signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which defines the rights and obligations of each country’s military personnel during joint activities.

The agreement was signed during an official visit by Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya`alon following talks with his Cypriot counterpart Christoforos Fokaides.

Speaking after the meeting, the Israeli Minister said: “The relationship between our defence establishments as well as between our armed forces and intelligence agencies are long-standing, productive and important. My visit here today demonstrates a strong relationship.”
The SOFA agreement, he said, was yet another layer in the strategic relationship between Israel and Cyprus, adding that Tel Aviv viewed its ties with the Cypriot defence establishment with “great strategic importance” as the situation in the Middle East posed great challenges to both countries.

Fokaides pointed said the cooperation between the two countries was based on common values and interests and recognised the need to effectively encounter the new security challenges in the region.

“Our two countries are jointly working to attain conditions of regional cooperation and growth for the wider region, taking into account the energy prospects that have been created in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Fokaides.

“We reached the common conclusion that the more unpredictable the security challenges are today, the more imperative it is to maintain reliable partners and foreseeable policies. In this framework, it is particularly important to support those governments in the area, that remain committed to promoting stability and security, and that work towards encountering terrorism and fundamentalism,” he added.

After the meeting and signing of the agreement, the two ministers visited the military Camp of Lieutenant General Vasiliou Kapota in Nicosia, where a monument dedicated to Cyprus-Israel Friendship was unveiled. The monument was erected in honour of the children of Holocaust survivors, for whom Cyprus became a transit place for their return to Israel after WWII.