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Russia, Serbia endorse 2-yr plan for humanitarian center in Nis

А bilateral meeting will be held in Serbia April 25 to discuss the priority measures for further development of the center

MOSCOW, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Serbia have endorsed a plan for development of the humanitarian center in the southern Serbian city of Nis over the next two years, Irina Rossius, an official spokeswoman for the Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense /EMERCOM/ said Wednesday.

“Upon the results of the Russian-Serbian talks, Serbia’s Prime Ivica Dacic and Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov signed a plan of joint steps to ensure the operations and development of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Nis for the period of 2013 through to 2015,” she said.

“Puchkov thanked Serbia’s leadership for the firmness and persistence in defending and pushing forward the process of setting up the center,” she said.

Rossius indicated that the center proved its efficiency last year when it was engaged in the extinguishing of wildfires in Serbia and Bosnia.

In accordance with the plan, a bilateral meeting will be held in Serbia April 25 to discuss the priority measures for further development of the center. The sides are discussing the formation of a reserve of materiel and equipment there at present.

A resource of 100 tons of various relief supplies and emergency equipment has already been accumulated in Nis, Rossius said.

April 25, 201 2, an intergovernmental agreement on setting up a Russian-Serbian humanitarian center for response to emergency situations was signed. The day is hence viewed as the date of its foundation.

Its main objective is to accelerate and ease up responses to the natural calamities and manmade disasters in Serbia and other Balkan countries.