President Serzh Sargsyan’s Congratulatory Message on Emergency Workers’ Day

Dear Emergency Service Officers and Veterans,

I cordially congratulate you on your professional holiday, the Emergency Workers’ Day.

You are entrusted with the crucial task of possibly preventing natural and manmade disasters on the territory of our country and - should they occur - responding, managing, mitigating and eliminating their consequences. A great role here has to be played by the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and, in particular, the National Center for Crisis Management.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations is a relatively new structure that brings together a number of recently established and already existing services. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is entrusted with a wide range of activities; nevertheless the MES staff has lived up to the task in a dignified manner.

In terms of building capacity in other spheres related to rescue and prompt response activities, we need to enhance the safety of the most important facilities. The Ministry of Emergency Situations cannot comply with this task on its own, so we need to introduce new effective mechanisms in order to coordinate the operations of different public structures and services.

Emergency situations know no State borders. Therefore, sustained partnerships should be built at regional and international levels. I welcome the involvement of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the joint programs implemented by relevant international organizations. I would also like to highlight the importance of Armenian MES experts’ participation in disaster response operations in the region.

In order to properly organize work in emergency situations, we need to take into consideration our country’s natural peculiarities. In this respect, another key priority is the continued reform of the seismic protection system; serious efforts should be made in the field of landslide management.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations has been instrumental in terms of countering the recent emergencies by organizing and coordinating effective response to wildfires. It was very important that State-managed and even private instruments were used to deal with these challenges. The above testifies not only to the professionalism of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but also to its staff’s high moral and psychological qualities.

Reiterating my congratulations on the occasion of your professional holiday, I wish you all robust health, every success and new achievements for the safety and progress of the Republic of Armenia and our people.