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Last Wednesday a colossal agreement was reached at Abu dhabi, sealing the creation of a strategic partnership between Greece and the United Arab Emirates. This is the bilateral Agreement between Greece and the UAE for Joint Cooperation in Foreign Policy and Defense, which includes a Clause for Mutual Military Assistance in case of attack by a third party. The specific clause is the culmination of many months of negotiations and the diplomatic marathon in which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias performed.
As is often mentioned, the two parties, namely Greece and the UAE, are committed to contributing to the defense and maintenance of the security, sovereignty, unity, protection and territorial independence of the United Arab Emirates and Greece, respectively, in the as far as possible and in practice. It is a mutual assistance clause between Athens and Abu Dhabi that is purely defensive in nature and is the maximum that can be achieved between two countries that have no borders and have other contractual commitments.
I specify it Mutual military assistance clause it is pioneering, as it does not exist in similar bilateral agreements that Greece has entered into after the end of the Second World War. The agreement, signed on Wednesday by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayan in Abu Dhabi, strengthens the security and territorial integrity of Greece, deepening relations with the EU. . For the implementation of the agreement, periodic consultations are established at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the establishment of a Supreme Joint Committee between the two countries is envisaged.
At the same time, the foundations will be laid that will allow the military forces of one country to be stationed in the territory of another, as well as the exchange of classified information. The text of the bilateral agreement was signed by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, in the presence of the Prime Minister. Kyriakou Mitsotaki and the successor to the throne of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Initial planning was that the agreement would be signed in Athens in September, but due to the importance attached to Greece’s strategic cooperation with the UAE, the Greek prime minister requested that the agreement be concluded during his official visit to the Emirates. , the second in a year.
The Joint Cooperation Agreement on Foreign and Defense Policy opens up new avenues, as it concerns, on the one hand, Greece, a NATO member state and the EU, which is subject to the relevant contractual obligations, and on the other, the Emirates United Arab. member country of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Government officials explain that the agreement between Greece and the United Arab Emirates is based on fundamental principles of international law, beginning with the Charter of the United Nations, and is not directed against any third party.
On the contrary, explain the senior Greek government officials, the Joint Cooperation Agreement and the Mutual Military Assistance Clause are aimed at maintaining security, peace and stability in the region. Parallel to the military cooperation agreement, the joint declaration signed by Mr. Dendias and his Emirati counterpart creates the framework for the development of comprehensive strategic cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, culture, energy, digital services and agriculture.
ODA Technician Training
An agreement between Athens and Abu Dhabi for the training of UAE technicians in the Greek aviation industry is being finalized. The commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates requested the rental of a space within a Greek military facility for a period of 10 years, in order to build facilities for the accommodation of apprentices from the United Arab Emirates. Due to its proximity to the ODA technical base, the Armor Training Center (KET) in Avlona was selected for the installation of the Emirates technicians. GEETHA, in cooperation with a military delegation from the United Arab Emirates, selected an area of approximately 90 acres within the KET, where the site will be landscaped and then the necessary infrastructure and facilities will be built to receive the technicians from the Emirates.
The “little Sparta” of Persia
The Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, with a population of approx. 10 million, are considered modern and are technologically equipped with state-of-the-art weapons systems. The Air Force has 78 American F-16 fighter jets equipped with AGM-88 HARM, AGM-65 Maverick, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, as well as 68 French fighter jets. Mirage 2000.
At the end of August, at the height of the Greek-Turkish crisis and in the midst of investigations carried out by the “Oruc Reis” on a Greek continental shelf, four F-16s from the United Arab Emirates were transferred to Crete, where they remained. two weeks. Air Force. The UAE Navy has 11 corvettes, while the Abu Dhabi government acquired, the first in the world, the THAAD anti-aircraft system from Lockheed Martin. In all, 100,000 people serve in the UAE Army, Navy and Air Force.
Since 2014 in the Emirates, military service is compulsory for all men between 18 and 30 years old and its duration is 16 months. In fact, they spend around 5.6% of their GDP annually on defense forces. Thanks to its active and efficient military role, its Armed Forces have been described by the former Secretary of Defense of the United States, James Mattis, as “little Sparta.”
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