Greece, Israel agree on flight training center at Kalamata

Greece and Israel have reached an agreement, after five months of negotiations, for the transformation of Kalamata Airport in southern Greece into a flight training center.

The agreement was presented on Monday to the relevant parliamentary committee by Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

Ministry sources told Kathimerini that the Israeli proposal was chosen over one from Canada. The same sources stressed that the cost of the Israeli proposal amounts to 1.365 billion euros for a period of 22 years.

Athens attaches great importance to the agreement as it expands the strategic relationship with Israel, but also because it provides a solution to the problem of training Hellenic Air Force pilots.

The program will be implemented via an intergovernmental agreement with Israel. This option is part of the memorandum of defense cooperation between Greece and...