MENA countries to train personnel at Cyprus facility

It has been widely reported that three countries based in the Middle East, as well as three EU member nations, are set to train their personnel in a range of techniques at a US-funded facility located in Cyprus.

The facility will oversee personnel as they get equipped with the latest techniques for the border, customs, maritime and cybersecurity sectors and will help prepare officials to protect infrastructural projects and conduct investigations and screening operations.

Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulides, confirmed that the Cyprus Center for Land, Open-Seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS) is scheduled to begin its operations in January 2022 and was selected because of its Mediterranean location and strong relationship with nations in the Middle East.

Christodoulides remarked: “Officials from neighbouring countries as well as from EU member states will receive the kind of training required to counter common threats of a non-military nature.”