The Director of RS- Deputy Ministry of IA Kamo Tsutsulyan hosted a delegation led by the Senior Country Economist for Armenia at the World Bank Lea Hakim. The delegation included Senior Economist Armine Manukyan, Economist Likich Mothae and Urban Development Specialist Nora Mirzoyan. Additionally, Tavadzwa Duben, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, joined the meeting online.

The meeting was also attended by the RS Deputy Director Tigran Petrosyan.

In his speach, Kamo Tsutsulyan emphasized that the support provided through the programs implemented by the World Bank had greatly contributed to enhancing the capacities of the Rescue Service. He highlighted that this meeting would pave the way for strengthening and expanding cooperation.

Lea Hakim expressed her gratitude for the warm welcome and stated that the purpose of the visit is to discuss disaster risk management reforms within the framework of “Development Policy Operation” program. She highlighted the importance of reforms that would enable a more effective response to challenges posed by climate change while simultaneously strengthening the capacity of the country to withstand extreme weather events.

The RS Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs presented his observations on the progress of reforms and highlighted as priorities the issues related to improving the structural conditions of squads, re-equipping with innovative technologies and methods, as well as implementing disaster risk management and reduction measures.

He specifically stressed that these reforms are crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of services and ensuring the preparedness of the country in the field of natural disaster prevention.

During the discussion, participants also addressed the creation of a unified command center, the improvement of rapid response and warning systems, as well as the development of the disaster risk management system. It was noted that the improvement of such systems will support the integrity and effectiveness of risk management, contributing to sustainable development and increased resilience of Armenia.