On April 10, 2012, the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv hosted the 7th meeting of the Working Group on Emergencies (WGEMRG).
The delegations exchanged informational materials on the holding of national and international exercises, participation in response measures in emergency situations occurring in other countries, as well as issues relating to preparations made with respect to mass spectator events, including the upcoming Eurovision 2012 competition in Azerbaijan and the UEFA European Football Championship in Ukraine.
The Working Group supported proposals put forward by the GUAM Working Group on Combatting Terrorism, Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking in regards to possible cooperation in disaster management in the context of preventing terrorist threats and disaster response (the mitigation of the consequences thereof. The WGEMRG also supported proposals regarding the initiation of cooperation in combatting chemical, biological and nuclear terrorism within the GUAM framework.
The fulfilment of Information Exchange Regulation on Natural and Man-made Disasters was also discussed.
The delegations decided in favour of using direct channels of communication between GUAM member states’ agencies in order to improve operational cooperation in disaster management (both prevention and response).
The outcomes of the meeting were reflected in the resultant Protocol. The next meeting of the Working Group is scheduled to take place in November 2012 in Kyiv.
