The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has actively participated in this year's Multinational Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Exercise "Argonaut 2023» with the contribution of diplomats and ministry officials in the evacuation scenario and reception of non-combatants from a crisis area.
The exercise held earlier this week with the participation of diplomatic and military personnel from 19 countries, was completed on Friday.
Regarding the participation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it said that "special emphasis was given this year to the lessons learned by countries from the evacuation of civilians from Sudan, including the implementation of the National Plan 'ESTIA,' through which 2,611 civilian citizens from 28 countries were evacuated via Cyprus.'
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also responsible for organizing the "Day of Distinguished Visitors," (DVDay) which was addressed by the Director of the Consular Affairs and Crisis Management Directorate of the Ministry, Omiros Mavrommatis. The DVDay was conducted with real life implementation of National Plan 'ESTIA', to deal with reception of non-combatants from foreign countries to Cyprus and their reception by the state agencies.
In his speech, Mavrommatis expressed his appreciation to all countries and entities that participated in the "Argonaut 2023" Exercise and said the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, in cooperation with embassies and other competent entities, act and respond to potential scenarios related to issues that may arise during an evacuation operation, terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, medical emergencies, and others.
Source: Cyprus News Agency