Turkey, Pakistan to intensify disaster management coop.

By Sena Guler

ANKARA

Turkey and Pakistan will work together to further intensify cooperation in the field of disaster management, according to the Pakistan Embassy on Monday.

In a written statement, the embassy said the cooperation was agreed upon during a meeting held between Omar Mahmood Hayat, chairman of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and Mehmet Gulluoglu, president of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) in Turkish capital of Ankara.

The meeting was also attended by the ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, it added.

It said both countries agreed to work on a number of initiatives, “including sharing of experiences and knowledge in disaster management, training of experts, joint exercises, hosting of joint conference, and high-level exchanges to intensify cooperation, bilaterally and in the wider regional context”.

Gulluoglu shared information about AFAD’s objectives, projects and plans to meet various kinds of emergencies at home and abroad.

Hayat, on his part, expressed appreciation for Turkey’s assistance during the 2005 earthquake and the 2010 floods in Pakistan.

“He underlined that given its extreme vulnerability to large-scale recurring natural disasters, the Government of Pakistan had strengthened its indigenous response mechanisms to natural disasters and was progressively moving towards a proactive approach of Disaster Risk Management, capitalizing on its own rich experiences as well as adopting best global practices,” said the statement.

“Hayat visited the AFAD Training Centre in Ankara and appreciated the high quality training being provided to the participants,” added the statement.