CYPnaval 2019_e-Booklet Defence & Security 4BLUE ECONOMY | Page 9

These are but a few examples of our foreign policy matrix and within the specific context of securing our own neighborhood. While we strive to achieve this objective and we highly value our bilateral partnerships and the trilateral cooperation mechanisms as a means to this end, we are by no means blind to the obvious dangers emanating from the aggressive behavior of a particular regional actor, which demonstrates through its actions and rhetoric that it radically and belligerently disagrees with this vision of a stable, secure, and prosperous Eastern Mediterranean. On our part, we cannot but continue on the path we are forging with all other partners in the region, correlating peaceful and mutually beneficial interests, always in full conformity with international law. Let me conclude by thanking you once again for your initiative and for the opportunity to put forth these views. Mr Evangelos Savva Head of Security Policy Department, Political Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Cyprus Evangelos Savva was born in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1970. He completed his secondary education in Larnaca, Cyprus in 1987, and his military service in the National Guard of the Republic of Cyprus, in 1989. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree (Honors, 1993) and a Master’s Degree (Honors, 1995) in Political Science, from the University at Albany, State University of New York (USA). He joined the diplomatic service of the Republic of Cyprus in 1997. During his 22-year career, he has served in Israel and Germany as Political Officer and in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as Consul-General. In 2014, he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Finland, with concurrent accreditation to Estonia. Upon completion of his Ambassadorial term in 2018, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he currently serves as Security Policy Director. He is married to Maria Papakyriakou, also a career diplomat in the diplomatic service of the Republic of Cyprus, and they parents of two children. 3/3