The first planning meeting for the full scale exercise was held 8-9 December in Tbilisi. Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, ASB Georgia, DEMA, the EU CBRN Centre of Excellence in Georgia, the PPRD East 3 Consortium, the Emergency Management Service Georgia, the customs of Georgia, the border police of Georgia, the Georgian Red Cross and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and DG ECHO gathered in a hybrid meeting, with most participants physical present at the venue. EMS Georgia presented their structure and the global scenario of the exercise as well as in more detail the process of incoming international assistance including Host Nation Support
As consortium we presented the timeline of the exercise and organised the training needs assessment for the participating teams. The countries presented their initial ideas for contributions. On the second day we visited the exercise area to give the participants an impression of the area.
We will now continue our intense planning and follow up activities. The second planning conference is planned 22-23 February.
The full scale exercise will take place 12-16 June 2023 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
In December, experts from the PPRD East 3 programme conducted a technical advisory mission in Armenia. During the mission, our experts visited the regional rescue department in Vanadzor city and got to know the 911 crisis management center in Vanadzor.
PPRD East 3 Experts Matilde Sangalli and Chiara Gorni from the Italian Red Cross, together with local coordinator Anna Sargsyan met the Head of the regional rescue department, Serob Gabrielyan and the Head of the 911 service Armen Danamalyan in Vanadzor and gathered information about how the emergency response is organised and how the Inter-agency cooperation works during emergencies, as well as assessing gaps and prioritising assistance.
On the second day, our experts travelled to Stepanavan to visit the field operative structures, such as the Red cross and the lore voluntary squad and the firefighting squad of the city. We also held a workshop with participation of operative structures in order to work together and understand the capacities and what can be improved in emergency preparedness and response.
Stepanavan city is a pilot area in Armenia for developing dynamic emergency plans in connection with forest fires.