Israeli defence companies are interested in establishing operations in Cyprus to potentially benefit from the European Union’s Safe defence financing programme, as President Isaac Herzog held talks with President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on Thursday.

The issue was among those discussed during Herzog’s one-day working visit, with the two sides also examining defence cooperation and Cyprus’ plans to acquire additional military equipment from Israel.

Cyprus is eligible for up to €1.18 billion in financing under Safe, the EU’s ‘security action for Europe programme’, which is designed to support defence investment by member states.

Cyprus submitted its investment plan last year and the European Investment Bank approved it in January, with the EU subsequently approving the loan agreement.

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Israel is already one of Cyprus’ largest suppliers of defence equipment. During Thursday’s discussions, the two sides agreed to remain in contact over the specific equipment Cyprus could acquire under its armament programme, such as the Merkava tanks being discussed as an alternative to Greece’s aging Leopard 1A5 units.

The Merkava, Hebrew for ‘Chariot’, is a modern Israeli battle tank designed with a strong emphasis on protecting its crew and withstanding drone attacks.

Cyprus has in recent years expanded its defence procurement, including the acquisition of the Barak MX air defence systems and radar platforms from Israel, alongside plans to obtain advanced attack helicopters.

Herzog and Christodoulides also discussed the development of the Aphrodite gas field, as well as the progress on the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project.

Israeli officials indicated that the agreement concerning the field was close to completion.

Christodoulides raised a separate issue dating back to 2011 concerning plans for a Cyprus-Israel agreement to avoid double taxation.

Tourism was also discussed, with Christodoulides commending the increase in flights between the two countries, remarking that there was now “more than 200 flights a week between Cyprus and Israel”.

Herzog himself expressed strong personal affection for Cyprus, commenting that he “loved the country…since childhood”, before describing Christodoulides as “a great friend” to Israel and said he appreciated the “dialogue and openness, frankness” between them.

During his opening remarks, Herzog also expressed a personal wish for a future meeting between the presidents of Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon, saying “my dream is that I wish we could meet with the president of Lebanon, yourself and myself, even here”.

He said such a meeting could help the region move “towards peace”, but the proposal was presented as a wish rather than an initiative agreed by the three countries.

The discussions also covered Israeli investors who had been active in properties in the north, with Israel having organised an information campaign domestically against property purchases following the arrest of Simon Aykut.