CHENS 2009 Meeting to take place in Cyprus

Chiefs of European Navies (CHENS) 2009 meeting will take place in Cyprus from 7 to 8 May hosted by Cyprus Navy Command of the General Staff of the Cyprus National Guard.

According to an announcement issued here on Monday by Defense Ministry, Cyprus Navy Command has been participating in the meetings since 2006, while assumed the chair of the Chiefs of European Navies forum on May 9, 2008.

The CHENS forum, which comprises 24 member states of European maritime nations including Cyprus and Greece, is an informal, independent and non-political forum.

It compromises Navy Chiefs from each European state, which is a member of the European Union and has a Navy.

The CHENS seeks to promote understanding between navies of the member countries, to examine issues of mutual interest and to increase awareness of the maritime domain in member countries.

The promotion of naval points of view within strategic fora and the wider maritime community is therefore considered an important function of CHENS, the announcement adds.

Moreover, it underlines that the main meeting of the Chiefs of European Navies takes place once a year in a member state by rotation.

The meeting in Cyprus marks the end the presidency of CHENS forum by the Cyprus Navy Command of the General Staff of the Cyprus National Guard.