It is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you at JRCC Larnaca for the purposes of this year’s Multinational Exercise NEMESIS 2021.

The Republic of Cyprus, is making every effort for constant upgrading of our procedures dealing with emergency situations such as antiterrorism operations, Search and Rescue, and pollution of marine environment, within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Our compass is our obligations deriving from International Law, UNCLOS as well as our high sense of responsibility towards the International community and our region.

The success of NEMESIS Exercise, a multinational and multiagency exercise, now running for the 8th consecutive year , is based primarily on the level of cooperation and coordination among the participants.  

Additionally, the effectiveness of all the agencies involved in the wider field of maritime safety is not an onetime goal to be achieved.  Rather, this is a process to be pursued continuously and within that framework lies the importance of this exercise. NEMESIS 2021, like every large-scale exercise, provides a great opportunity to identify valuable lessons that will enhance our effort for continuous improvement. I have no doubt that the participants will grasp this opportunity and take their knowledge and experience a step further. 

At this moment allow me to express my sincere gratitude to participating countries: Egypt, France, Greece, Israel  Italy, United Kingdom, and United States. Thank you for your participation to the exercise with assets and personnel. Your contribution and your constant support is really important for us.

Having in mind, the capabilities and professionalism of all participants, we expect that the exercise will once again meet its goals. I would like to commend everyone who has been involved from the planning stage to the conduct of the exercise.

Finally, taking this opportunity, it is important to underline the exploitation of hydrocarbons within the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

We recognize that the utilization of our Exclusive Economic Zone comes not only with benefits but also with responsibilities and I would like to assure you that the Republic of Cyprus is committed to adhere to them. In doing so, we are actively pursuing the maximization of cooperation and coordination of all the involved parties, public and private sector entities, based on the international law and the European Union Directives through various initiatives like this particular exercise.

I wish to all the participants a successful and, above all, safe exercise.