Armenia and France highly appreciate cooperation in the field of emergency situations and security

ArmInfo. Armenia and France  highly appreciate cooperation in the field of emergency situations  and security. This was stated at the meeting of the head of the  Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia David Tonoyan and the  French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lakota. The attaches  of the  internal security of the French embassy in Georgia, Bruno Balduk,  also participated in the meeting.

As the press service of the Emergencies Ministry told ArmInfo, the  parties stated that cooperation between Armenia and France in this  sphere was established back in 1988 during the Spitak earthquake.   Stressing the importance of public security and ability to withstand  disasters, the interlocutors expressed their readiness to deepen the   work carried out in this direction. The sides discussed the  preparation and organization, with the assistance of the EU, of joint  training with Georgia. Tonoyan stressed that such trainings  contribute to regional public security and strengthening of the  confrontation with disasters.

The interlocutors also touched upon the issues of retraining of  Armenian rescuers, the formation of volunteer rescue forces, the  study of the French experience in providing medical assistance and  psychological assistance during disasters, and the implementation of  joint projects with the assistance of the French side.

Touching upon the forthcoming summit of Francophone in Yerevan,  Tonoyan assured that the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the  Armenian Police will jointly ensure the security of the event. It  also discussed the possible assistance of France in such areas as  technical and industrial security. Tonoyan highly appreciated the  participation of French experts in the process of studying the risks  at the Nairit chemical plant, noting that the expert assistance of  France together with the company "Veolia Jur" will also be useful in  resolving the issues with wastewater arising in the last period.