NICOSIA — The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Fayyad Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, arrived in Nicosia. This visit came in response to the invitation by the Chief of Staff of the Cypriot National Guard and the Armed Forces.

At the outset of the visit, Gen. Al-Ruwaili held Wednesday a meeting with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace.

During the meeting, Al-Ruwaili conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Supreme Commander of all military forces, and the Crown Prince to the Cypriot president and the government and people of the Republic of Cyprus.

For his part, the president of Cyprus expressed his appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince and the government of Saudi Arabia, stressing the strength of relations between the two countries.

He affirmed that this visit is an important step for developing military cooperation between the two countries. After that, Gen. Al-Ruwaili visited the headquarters of the Cyprus National Guard.

During the visit, Gen. Al-Ruwaili met Wednesday with Chief of Staff of the Cypriot National Guard and Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Dimokritos Zervakis. They reviewed military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Cyprus as well as a number of issues of common interest.

Then, the Cypriot Ministry of Defense held a luncheon, in honor of Gen. Al-Ruwaili and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides.

Meanwhile, Gen. Al-Ruwaili also met with Adviser of the Cypriot National Security Dr. Kyriacos P. Kouros. During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of common interest.

At the end of the visit, Gen. Al-Ruwaili affirmed the importance of the military relations between the two friendly countries and the joint military and defense cooperation. — SPA