The Minister of Defence of Cyprus, Charalambos Petrides, presented to the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives the strategic objectives of his agency and, as a consequence, of the Republic of Cyprus in matters of defence and security. The budget of the Ministry of Defense for 2021 provides for a total expenditure of 437 679 945 euros, which is approximately 70 million euros or 19% more than in 2020.

Petrides explained that the objectives of the Ministry of Defense are based on six principles. These are: cooperation in defense with other states, improvement of relations with the U.S. and support to the development of common defense policy and strategic autonomy of the EU; actions and plans to improve the operational capacity of the National Guard; implementation of innovative and reform actions; efficient use of financial resources; improvement of legislative and regulatory framework of the army; implementation of environmental and energy policy.