Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.6 /Trend S. Suleymanov /
The Emergency Situations Ministers of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Kamaladdin Heydarov and Vladimir Bojko, signed an agreement in Astana today to enhance coordination in preventing and dealing with emergencies in the Caspian Sea.
The agreement was signed during the Fifth Eurasian Energy Forum KAZENERGY 2010, which is underway in Kazakhstan.
"This issue is urgent in light of recent events in the Gulf of Mexico and the complex biological conditions of the Caspian Sea," Bojko said at a news conference.
Azerbaijani Emergency Situations Minister Heydarov said Azerbaijan is currently taking concrete steps towards strengthening oil and gas security. Although the ministry has been created relatively recently, he said, agreements with companies that are engaged in oil and gas production have been already signed.
He said that Azerbaijan has already created an accidents hot-line. Heydarov also noted that a rapid response service has been created in the Caspian Sea.
Heydarov has offered to conduct joint operations to tackle emergencies in the Caspian Sea.
According to Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Minister, a similar relationship has been already established with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
"We are also trying to establish relations with Turkmenistan, because we have no other alternative," Bojko said.
Heydarov also made an offer to establish a joint fund between the two ministries to respond to emergencies.
"I am suggesting the establishment of a joint fund to eliminate the duplication of equipment and so we can coordinate a common action plan" he said.
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Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations.
