The Minister of National Defence, Panos Kammenos, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis and the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General Christos Christodoulou, visited the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center (NMIOTC) in Chania on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its operation.
The Minister of National Defence made the following statement:
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the operation of the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre, a Training Centre for maritime security, which has made us all so proud of, no matter where we may be in the world, either in allied countries or in third countries that are interested in getting trained at the said Centre, which is an ornament to Crete and Greece.
With hard work, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers have achieved model training with regard to maritime security, which involves the problem of piracy that emerged about 15 years ago – and that was the main reason for the NMIOTC’s foundation – and at the same time, the changes that are about to take place in the Mediterranean Sea and our region in particular – and this also involves Crete – as of the day that natural gas and our underwater resources will start to be exploited.
Today, that we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the operation of the NMIOTC, the US Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mitchell is in Cyprus on the occasion of the commencement of the drilling by Exxon Mobil through coordination with the Republic of Cyprus.
As you are very well aware of, Exxon Mobil has entered into an agreement with Greece a few days ago for the starting up of the extraction of natural gas in the region of Crete, the gulf of Patras and the Ionian Sea.
I would like to congratulate all members of the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre. As a Minister of National Defence, I am proud and all Greek people are proud of it too, because they do not just train allied forces, but with each passing year, they evolve towards maritime security. And this explains our country’s geopolitical growth.
Greece lies in a region and applies a policy in recent years, apart from the Alliance with the bilateral and the trilateral, and now quartet relations towards the south with Israel, Cyprus and the United States of America, and the relationships built by means of joint exercises with Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries, which are approaching us because they know that Greece has proved itself to be a trustworthy discussion partner. At the same time, we are the ones that have Israel’s complete trust.
Our region and in particular the area between Suez, Cyprus, Crete and Malta constitutes a maritime space, where drugs, arms, humans and oil are being trafficked, thus being in fact the main source of finance for terrorism. An area that should be monitored within the following months and at the same time, as you also understand with the EEZ proclamation as well, the responsibilities of the Hellenic Armed Forces are extended by several miles than today”.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about Turkey’s position on the Cypriot EEZ and the Barbaros vessel?
P. KAMMENOS: We are trying to have a good relationship with Turkey. You can see the Turkish flag here as well, and members of the Turkish Armed Forces are also getting trained with us at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre. It is also for the benefit of Turkey to have a good relationship with Greece. Apart from that, we will do whatever it takes to live together, but we do not intend to step a millimeter back to the protection of our national sovereignty and our territorial integrity.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any comment on the recent developments with Kotzia’s resignation?
P. KAMMENOS: I have no comment on it.
The NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre has been accredited in 2013 by the NATO Allied Command Transformation, as a training entity that provides advanced training in the field of maritime security.
Units and members of the Navy from more than 70 countries have been trained in the NMIOTC since its establishment.
Each year, more than 1000 trainees from NATO member states and partners undergo training at the NMIOTC.
