Kazakhstan , Astana, Aug. 19 / Trend A.Maratov /
On World Humanitarian Day, Aug. 19, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan signed an agreement on the establishment of a Central Asian Center for Disaster Response and Risk Reduction, the UN Astana office reported.
"The Intergovernmental Agreement was signed by the Emergency Situations Minister of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Vladimir Bojko and Bolotbek Borbiyev, and the chairman of the Committee of emergency situations and civil defense under the Tajik government, Khaibullo Latipov", the report reads.
The Center is established thanks to long-term activities of the ministries and departments responsible for prevention and mitigation of natural and man-made disasters in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and their international partners - the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Development Program (UNDP ), the Department of the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and other organizations.
The Center is required to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination in disaster risk reduction and increase population safety in the Central Asian region.
"The Central Asian Center will strengthen long-term national platforms for members and other cross-sectoral mechanisms for disaster risk reduction in accordance with the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, launched in 2005, as part of the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction", the report reads.
The need to develop and strengthen institutions, mechanisms, and capacities for resilience, and mitigate the negative effects of emergencies associated with natural and man-made disasters is recognized as one of the main objectives of the program.