Belarus to preside at CSTO Council for Emergencies in 2023

The 13th meeting of the Coordinating Council for Emergencies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states with the participation of the emergencies ministers of the CSTO member states took place in Moscow on 18 August. Belarusian Emergencies Minister Vadim Sinyavsky attended the meeting as well, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.

The event was also attended by Emergencies Minister of Armenia Armen Pambukhchyan, Emergencies Minister of Kazakhstan Yuri Ilyin, Emergencies Minister of Kyrgyzstan Boobek Azhikeev, Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation Alexander Kurenkov, Chairman of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of Tajikistan, Lieutenant General Rustam Nazarzoda.

The meeting of the CSTO Council for Emergencies was held on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“Emergencies of recent years are becoming increasingly unpredictable and complex, as exemplified by the global spread of the COVID-19 virus, which created the so-called COVID crisis that disrupted social and economic processes in all areas of life. This requires not only joint efforts at the level of states, but also constant joint building of preparedness and response capacity, development and application of modern technologies for prevention and liquidation of emergencies and their consequences. Knowledge and experience in these areas along with close interaction are an important condition for progress in improving the system of emergency prevention and response of CSTO member states,” Vadim Sinyavsky said in his opening speech.

The emergencies ministers emphasized the need to continuously build emergency preparedness and response capabilities, and confirmed their readiness to further develop the system of emergency prevention and response of the CSTO member states.

The participants of the meeting discussed a wide range of issues aimed at increasing the effectiveness of CSTO mechanisms of collective response to emergencies, including the plan of activities of the Coordinating Council for 2023, in accordance with which special exercises with rescue units of the CSTO member states are planned next year on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

Close attention was paid to the activities of emergencies ministries to prevent forest fires and also issues related to measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus infection. The participants of the meeting got familiar with the results of the International Security Industry Exhibition “National Security. Belarus 2022” held in Minsk on 22-25 June.

Belarus will preside at the CSTO Coordinating Council for Emergencies in 2023. The next meeting of the Coordinating Council is to take place in Belarus in H2 2023.

Written by: belta.by