MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) – The Belarusian Emergencies Ministry units are always prepared to respond to emergency situations, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said as he attended a meeting on the occasion of the retirement of Belarus' former Emergencies Minister Lieutenant General Vladimir Vashchenko, BelTA has learned.
“There are no random people in emergencies bodies – only those who are truly devoted to their profession and service to their motherland and nation. Units of the Emergencies Ministry should always stand ready for quick and decisive actions in life-threatening situations and in the most difficult and unusual conditions,” Roman Golovchenko noted.
He pointed out that Belarusian Emergencies Ministry units have already demonstrated their ability to work effectively and in unison when they participated in emergency response operations in Belarus and abroad.
“Your priorities have always been about saving people's lives and health, protecting the country's interests, and preventing natural disasters. People count on you because they are sure that they will get help, that rescuers will do everything possible and impossible to save the most valuable thing – a person's life,” Roman Golovchenko said.
Roman Golovchenko thanked Vladimir Vashchenko for his service and presented him with an honorary certificate of the Council of Ministers in recognition of his long and fruitful work, high professionalism, and significant personal contribution to emergency prevention and response.
Vladimir Vashchenko came a long way and has a rich biography as an officer-rescuer, having devoted 40 years of his life to service in emergencies bodies, Head of the Belarus President Administration Igor Sergeyenko pointed out. Vladimir Vashchenko started his career as a junior inspector of the state fire inspectorate of Mogilev and went through all the steps of the career ladder. He headed the Mogilev Oblast Department of the Emergencies Ministry for ten years and was the emergencies minister for another decade. “Vladimir Vashchenko held high posts for almost 20 years – for half of the career,” Igor Sergeyenko stressed.
According to him, Vladimir Vashchenko has always been a hardworking man, an attentive boss, and a considerate person. During his service as the emergencies minister, the ministry did a great job to upgrade its facilities and equipment, develop and introduce new emergency response machinery and equipment, and improve its educational capacities. Thanks to Vladimir Vashchenko, the ministry enhanced international cooperation. Belarusian rescuers took part in fighting wildfires in foreign countries.
Igor Sergeyenko also thanked Vladimir Vashchenko for his efforts in patriotic education and establishment of learning facilities, and presented him with an honorary certificate of the Belarus President Administration.
In turn, Vladimir Vashchenko thanked everyone he had worked with and pointed out that these achievements had been the result of a collective effort. “Our ministry and other government bodies of the national security system were a great team,” he said.
Vladimir Vashchenko is sure that the Emergencies Ministry will continue performing its functions successfully.
