Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou held a meeting on Thursday in Paris with Deputy Minister of the Interior of France, François-Noël Buffet, with whom he discussed issues concerning the enforcement of civil protection.
The Minister, who heads a Cypriot delegation currently in France in the context of the cooperation with Expertise France for the upgrading of civil protection in Cyprus, thanked the French Ministry of the Interior for the continuous support it offers to Cyprus particularly in matters of civil protection.
According to an official announcement, during the meeting they discussed further ways of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of prevention and protection of citizens in cases of emergency. The press release says that it was agreed to initiate, at a technocratic level, the process for the conclusion of a memorandum of cooperation, which will establish the framework for cooperation between Cyprus and France in matters of civil defence.
Ioannou also informed the French Deputy Minister about the ongoing plan of Cyprus to upgrade and transform the Civil Defence Force into a Civil Protection Directorate, as well as about the actions to increase the response capacity of citizens in cases of emergency. In this context, he thanked the French Ministry of the Interior and Expertise France for their valuable contribution to the implementation of the objective of reorganizing the Civil Defence Force.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior visited the Crisis Management Center of the French Ministry of the Interior, where he was informed about its operation, the decision-making process in emergency situations and the method of coordination of the competent services in crisis situations.
Later in the day, Ioannou had a meeting with representatives of Expertise France, during which the project of reorganizing the Civil Defence Force was discussed. The Cypriot Minister expressed his gratitude to the Organisation for the expertise it provides to the Civil Defence Force in the effort to strengthen Cyprus’ capabilities in crisis management and civil protection.
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Source: CNA
