Speaking at a security conference in Nicosia on 4 November, President Nikos Christodoulides unveiled plans for what he called “a NATO or OSCE of the Middle East” – a standing regional organisation that would formalise defence, crisis-response and humanitarian coordination among like-minded states.
Cyprus, he stressed, is already a proven safe-haven for civilian evacuations: the island handled 2,600 air and sea lift movements during the 2023 Sudan air-bridge and acted as staging ground for multiple Gaza aid flights this year. By institutionalising that role, the government hopes to attract permanent liaison missions, training facilities and multinational logistics units.
![President Christodoulides proposes ‘NATO-style’ Middle-East security organisation centred on Cyprus]()
For mobility stakeholders the proposal could be transformative. A treaty-based body would require Status-of-Forces-Agreement-style visa privileges, expedited customs lanes for equipment and seamless onward-travel rights for diplomats, contractors and their families. The Presidency has asked the newly created State Ministry of Migration & International Protection to map out visa exemptions and residence permits analogous to those used at NATO’s SHAPE headquarters in Belgium.
Diplomats from Greece, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates attended the launch event, signalling early interest. Brussels also sent observers, seeing the platform as complementing EU Civil Protection Mechanism deployments. Negotiations on legal personality, headquarters agreement and mobility annexes are slated for early 2026; Nicosia’s Larnaca-based Zenon Coordination Centre is the favourite to host interim headquarters.
Business-travel managers should monitor developments closely. Early drafts foresee multi-entry ‘Regional Cooperation Visas’ valid across member states – potentially easing travel for contractors supporting defence, cyber-security and humanitarian supply chains throughout the Eastern Mediterranean rim.
Cyprus, he stressed, is already a proven safe-haven for civilian evacuations: the island handled 2,600 air and sea lift movements during the 2023 Sudan air-bridge and acted as staging ground for multiple Gaza aid flights this year. By institutionalising that role, the government hopes to attract permanent liaison missions, training facilities and multinational logistics units.
For mobility stakeholders the proposal could be transformative. A treaty-based body would require Status-of-Forces-Agreement-style visa privileges, expedited customs lanes for equipment and seamless onward-travel rights for diplomats, contractors and their families. The Presidency has asked the newly created State Ministry of Migration & International Protection to map out visa exemptions and residence permits analogous to those used at NATO’s SHAPE headquarters in Belgium.
Diplomats from Greece, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates attended the launch event, signalling early interest. Brussels also sent observers, seeing the platform as complementing EU Civil Protection Mechanism deployments. Negotiations on legal personality, headquarters agreement and mobility annexes are slated for early 2026; Nicosia’s Larnaca-based Zenon Coordination Centre is the favourite to host interim headquarters.
Business-travel managers should monitor developments closely. Early drafts foresee multi-entry ‘Regional Cooperation Visas’ valid across member states – potentially easing travel for contractors supporting defence, cyber-security and humanitarian supply chains throughout the Eastern Mediterranean rim.
