Festive events dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Russian-Armenian Center of Humanitarian Response Center (RACHR) were held in Yerevan. The events were attended by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin, Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies Vyacheslav Butko, Head of the Rescue Service of the MIA of Armenia Kamo Tsutsulyan, Acting Secretary General of the International Civil Defense Organization Roman Lapin, heads of institutes and academies of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies, representatives of various departments and organizations.
On May 19, the international scientific and practical conference “Commonwealth in the Name of Salvation” was held, which brought together presentations by experts on a wide range of issues in modern civil defense and emergency response. V. Butko read out a welcoming speech to the conference participants from the Minister of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia Aleksandr Kurenkov.
“Modern challenges require well-coordinated actions from the rescue services of our countries. Using the potential of humanitarian centers and attracting the capabilities of scientific institutes of the International Civil Defense Organization will undoubtedly accelerate these processes,” Aleskandr Kurenkov noted in his welcoming speech.
On the same day, a bilateral meeting was held between Deputy Head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry V. Butko and the Russian Ambassador to Armenia S. Kopyrkin, during which an exchange of views took place on the prospects for the development of the RACHR and strengthening cooperation between Russia and Armenia in the field of civil defense. In addition, high-ranking guests took part in a meeting of the Board of the RACHR, at which the Director of the Center A. Butyrskii made a report on the work of the organization over 10 years, and also spoke about promising areas of future work.
On the same day, representatives of the Russian and Armenian delegations visited the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex and laid flowers at the monument to the memory of the Armenian Genocide.
On May 20, a ceremonial wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame took place in Yerevan’s Victory Park in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Then the delegations arrived at the RACHR base, where international exercises were held, the main goal of which was to show the audience the capabilities of the Center, reflecting its main areas of activity: organizing humanitarian aid deliveries, educational activities, as well as readiness to respond to emergencies in Armenia and other countries.
An exhibition of modern models of Russian-made equipment and fire-fighting and rescue equipment was organized on the territory of the Center, as well as a photo exhibition dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, which the agency will also celebrate this year.
“First of all, on behalf of the Russian delegation, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for a warm and cordial welcome. We are sincerely glad to attend the ceremonial events dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the RACHR, which has come a long way during its existence and has grown into a full-fledged international structure providing assistance and help in emergency response to needy states of both the South Caucasus region and the Middle East. I would like to wish the RACHR not to stop there, to continue its development and to promote the strengthening of bilateral relations between Russia and Armenia,” said Deputy Head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Vyacheslav Butko.
“Thanks to the experience accumulated over 10 years of active work in as well as a powerful material and technical base, the RACHR today is a full-fledged international structure, the management and staff of which are ready to solve the most ambitious tasks,” noted the director A. Butyrskii.
“We are very glad that such a large number of guests came to our celebration. We are always ready to demonstrate our capabilities and will try not only not to lower the bar we have set, but also to continue to improve our skills in the future,” added the co-director of the RACHR P. Gyozalyan.
