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Russia to use SCO potential to fight global disasters

Russia proposes to pay special attention to information cooperation between the SCO member-states

CHOLPON-ATA /Kyrgyzstan/, August 24. /TASS/. Russia is ready to use the potential of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to counter large-scale disasters, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said in an interview with TASS.

"We want to fully use the SCO’s advantages, its potential to counter new challenges, threats, large-scale global natural disasters that require concerted efforts to protect population and territories," the minister said.

According to Puchkov, Russia proposes to pay special attention to information cooperation between the SCO member-countries.

"We suggest holding a seminar in Moscow within the next two years on information cooperation between the management bodies in crisis situations. It will be a good platform for establishing direct contacts between the emergency services of the SCO member-countries," the minister said.

Puchkov added it had also been proposed to hold a meeting of the heads of the territorial bodies of the SCO’s emergencies ministries on the border with Kazakhstan who are in charge of cross-border cooperation to prevent and deal with the aftermath of emergency situations.

"Within the framework of the SCO, we are prepared to implement priority tasks aimed at ensuring the safety of the population and reducing risks in the modern world. All that will help create an effective global and regional security architecture and take into account the interests of all SCO member-countries," the minister stressed.

About the meeting

The meeting of the emergencies ministers of the SCO member-countries is held on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Taking part in it are representatives of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of India and Pakistan, which joined the SCO in 2017, take part in the meeting for the first time.

According to Puchkov, the participants in the meeting noted that a lot of emergencies, which affect all spheres of human life, occurred in the world recently.

"The parties agreed that it is necessary to step up joint efforts to develop cooperation in preventing and dealing with the aftermath of emergencies," the minister said, adding that all parties supported the Russian delegation’s initiative to intensify information exchange about disasters.

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