Nikos Christodoulides, foreign minister of Cyprus has announced that twenty-one will be participating in the drill organized by Cyprus which famously involves the possible evacuation of civilians of nations in the Middle Eastern region.
According to Mr. Christodoulides’ statement, made during the final phase of the drill, Cyprus will have a crucial role to play here whilst functioning as a “safe transfer hub” for the region.
Participants include the USA, the UK, Germany, France and Israel. The drill itself will have several rescue operation scenarios during the transport process.
Mr. Christodoulides has stated that the increasing number of countries in the exercise shows that the task at hand has value and that countries involved understand that fully.
The last time Cyprus was used as a ‘safe haven’ was in in 2006, when around 60,000 civilians were evacuated from Lebanon.