On January 18 RA Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan and the Secretary General of the Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS) Anna Yeghiazaryan signed a memorandum of understanding, strengthening the commitment to a unified approach of cooperation and mutual assistance in the field of population protection in emergency situations.
The partnership recorded in the memorandum underlines the common vision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armenian Red Cross Society to create effective cooperation mechanisms in the areas of population protection, disaster preparedness and response, risk reduction and prevention.
The partnership aims to strengthen close cooperation in disaster risk reduction activities, sharing information on available resources and pooling capacities for disaster response, increased preparedness and risk reduction.
The partnership also includes activities for the development of population protection systems in emergency situations through the mobilization of volunteer potential and the implementation of large-scale awareness initiatives.
Vahe Ghazaryan, the Minister of Internal Affairs, welcoming the attendees, highly appreciated the close cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armenian Red Cross Society in a number of areas, expressing readiness to deepen and expand it.
Vahe Ghazaryan singled out the work of ensuring the rights of the forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh within the framework of this cooperation and thanked the Armenian Red Cross Society for its support in that direction.
According to the Minister, the memorandum will raise cooperation to a new level in terms of disaster risk reduction and prevention, definition of mechanisms in issues related to the protection of the population in emergency situations, and other directions.
Disaster risk management is one of the strategic directions of the Armenian Red Cross Society. Being a support structure for the government in the humanitarian sector, disaster risk management activities have been carried out in the entire territory of the RA in close cooperation with relevant sector structures and today already with the rescue service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and local self-government bodies, within the framework of relevant memorandums and agreements. Sharing the experience of the International Red Cross Movement, the ARCS carries out activities aimed at disaster preparedness, response and early recovery, contributing to increasing the resilience of communities, while simultaneously responding to all major disasters in the country. This partnership, based on the principles outlined in the memorandum of understanding, aims to develop and strengthen a comprehensive, unified response system. Both parties are committed to working together to analyze the necessary information, conduct educational and capacity building activities and joint activities that will increase disaster preparedness and public awareness.
"We attach great importance to the signing of this memorandum, which will give a new incentive to our cooperation," said Anna Yeghiazaryan, the Secretary General of the ARCS.
