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Interview with

Deputy Secretary General

of the International Civil

Defence Organisation (ICDO)

Geneva, Switzerland

Q: The International Civil meetings were held. Discussion fo-
Defence Organization (ICDO) cused on disaster risk prevention.
together with the Ministry of Participants tried to figure out what
Emergency Situations of the were the best ways to prepare popula-
Republic of Azerbaijan (MES tion of their counties to prevent catas-
of RA) held the International trophes and if they happened how to
Conference on <<Civil Defence combat them.
and Preparation of Civil Socie-
ties for Disaster Risk Preven- In the frame of the conference the
tion>> in Gabala (Republic of MES of RA organized field civil de-
Azerbaijan) earlier this year. fence and rescue exercises.
What do you consider as being
the main outcome of the confe- We are sure that this conference will
rence? enable us to face tomorrow's chal-
lenges in a more effective way.
The 13th International Conference has developed a very efficient system
on Civil Defence which was held in Q: Azerbaijan organized this of civil protection which has sophis-
Gabala, Azerbaijan, on March 12- conference together with the ticated modern equipment, aircrafts
13, 2013 is definitely a landmark ICDO. Why did you choose this and helicopters. The preparation of
event. 150 representatives from 54 country to hold a conference? civil defence personnel and of the
countries attended the conference. It population of Azerbaijan to face
was addressed by the Minister of the The MES of RA became a member of catastrophes is based on excellent
Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan the ICDO 20 years ago. During these scientific and research programs and
Kemaleddin Heydarov and Secre- years solid ties have been established full-scale training.
tary General of the International between two organizations. Azerbai-
Civil Defense Organization Nawaf al- jan is located in a zone with high risk Moreover, Azerbaijan provides help
Sleibi. President of Azerbaijan llham of emergency situations. Azerbaijan to other counties struck by disasters.
Aliyev has received participants of
the conference.

The conference focused on the
following areas:
- Role of inter-agencies in the pre-
paration of population in the field
of civil defence and protection from
disasters;
- Preventing the impact of natural
and man-made disasters and risk
management;
- Providing life support for popula-
tion and management of the interna-
tional humanitarian aid during large-
scale emergencies.

Heads of some countries - members
of the International Civil Defence
Organisation (ICDO) and partners
responsible for emergency manage-
ment in their countries - made pre-
sentations. Bilateral and multilateral

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