Welcome address
Mr Vasilis Zomenos
CYPnaval Director
Your Honorable Permanent Secretary,
Dear Executives, Officers, ladies & gentlemen.
I would like to welcome and thank you all for your participation at the 3rd CYPnaval 2019, DEFENCE &
SECURITY 4BLUE ECONOMY Conference.
Since one third of the global Oil & Gas is extracted from platforms at the sea, an underwater network of
pipelines & cables is a vital infrastructure of modern society. 90% of global trade is being moved through the
sea, meaning the thousands of ports and terminals along the coastlines are crucial to the supply chain. Marine
wind farms are growing rapidly boosting clean energy reserves, while fisheries feed the demands of a fast-
growing population. Tourism as a whole, including cruises & super yachts is becoming a powerful
development tool in recent times. All these marine business activities require a secure functioning
environment, important for economic growth and stability, certainly not threatened by any illegal activity.
To sum up, Defense & Security are deemed more than necessary to support the "Blue Economy" of any
developing region.
The CYPnaval Conference, aims to be a key supporter of the Blue Economy concept, particularly in the East
Mediterranean region.
The conference is organized with the Kind Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus for
which we are thankful. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to our SENIOR Sponsors DAMEN
Shipyards & ALSEAMAR-ALCEN for their valuable support in the preservation of this Institution.
Once again, welcome to CYPnaval 2019 and I hope it will be a productive and beneficial Conference for
everyone.
I call the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr George Georgiou, for
the official opening of the Conference.