BREST, 2 December (BelTA) – The rescue services of Belarus and Poland intend to implement eight projects as part of the 2014-2020 Poland-Belarus-Ukraine transboundary cooperation program. The agreement on preparing joint applications for the project contest was signed as a result of the 16th session of the Belarusian-Polish subcommission on transboundary cooperation in Brest on 2 December, BelTA has learned.
The document was signed by the heads of the Brest department and the Grodno department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry and the heads of the fire-fighting and rescue services of Podlaskie Voivodship and Lublin Voivodship. The partners intend to implement eight projects that will make transboundary safety stronger. The total sum of the grants will exceed €9.3 million.
These initiatives provide for building a set of structures for the fire station in Kamenets and Vysokoye, for reconstructing and upgrading the training and education center of the Brest Oblast Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry. Plans have also been made to equip fire-fighters and rescue workers in the bordering regions of Belarus and Poland with special equipment and gear. Joint exercises will be arranged. Voluntary fire-fighting societies will be encouraged.
“We have many spheres and directions for cooperation. Fire-fighting services are an example to follow. They share their best practices, improve their equipment, and buy the necessary gear. Thanks to this cooperation the Belarusian and Polish rescue service agencies have implemented projects worth €6 million. It is a successful and illustrative example for other agencies,” said the co-chairman of the Belarusian-Polish subcommission on transboundary cooperation, Podlaskie Voivodship Governor Bohdan Paczkowski.
“The dynamics of cooperation in Belarusian-Polish border area is impressive,” stressed the co-chairman of the Belarusian-Polish subcommission on transboundary cooperation, Belarusian First Deputy Emergencies Minister Vasily Stepanenko. “Officers of our agencies have become not just colleagues, but friends.”
The subcommission on transboundary cooperation is part of the Belarusian-Polish intergovernmental coordinating commission on transboundary cooperation affairs. The subcommission gathers every six months. Participants of the sessions discuss prospects of cooperation in various areas that are vital for security and safety in the Belarusian-Polish border area.
