Armenia’s emergency minister hails effective cooperation with UN

Minister of Emergency Situations Feliks Tsolakyan highly praised his agency’s effectively developing cooperation with the United Nations has he received a delegation led by Shombi Sharp, the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia.

Greeting the guests, the minister appreciated particularly the joint activities towards reducing disaster risks and developing capacities to eliminate the consequences of different disasters.

According to a press release by the Emergency Ministry, the sides also discussed the activities of the Armenian Urban Search and Rescue Team which, in 2015, achieved the International Search and Rescue Group’s (INSARAG) external classification for a five-year period (subject to requalification from September 1 to 4, 2015).

The awarded certificate testifies to the team's high preparedness and ability to reach the affected population in possible disaster zones in any country.  

Stressing the importance of training search and rescue teams in line with the INSARAG standards, Minister Tsolakyan also attached a priority to the strengthening of discipline and improvement of mobility, as well as flexibility of decision-making on the ground.

Under recently proposed structural changes, it is planned to increase the number of employees in special rescue subdivisions.

Addressing the Ministry's needs, Tsolakyan highlighted the insufficiency of amphibious firefighting vehicles designed for multi-storey blocs (50m minimum).

Thanking the minister for the reception, Mr Sharp remembered the Armenian firefighting team's efficient rescue operations during the 2017 major fire in Borjomi, Georgia (where he was a Resident Representative from 2014 to 2018).

Describing the Armenian squad as the best INSARAG rescue and search team in the region, the minister said he sees high chances for the urban rescuers to seek and obtain a higher qualification.

The minister later briefed the guests on the 130 tons of humanitarian assistance. which the Armenian and Russian Governments sent jointly to Syria yesterday in aid to the country’s war-affected civilians.