TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, July 15 – The Ministry of Interior and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Albania, in cooperation with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), have launched the National Policy Dialogue on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
The two-day conference held last week, an activity of the “Regional Program on Disaster Risk Reduction in South East Europe”, brought together senior representatives from the Department of Civil Emergencies, Institute of Energy, Water and Environment, Military Meteorological Services, Institute of GeoSciences, Ministries of Public Works and Transports, Health, Environment, Education, Agriculture, Defense, Civil Society Organizations and international donors.
Ferdinand Poni, Deputy Minister of Interior, said: “The Government of Albania is committed, and taking the right decisions, to shift an approach from disaster management to disaster risk reduction management and to enhance international and national institutional cooperation on this sector”.
Norimasa Shimomura, UNDP Country Director, noted: “The Government of Albania has made important efforts to ensure the achievement of the objectives included in the Hyogo Framework for Action. A continued leadership of the Government is key to the successful implementation of the recommendations that will be endorsed today and also to mobilize necessary support from the donor community in a coherent manner”
Based on the “National Needs Assessment on DRR” conducted by UNDP and WMO, the first day of the conference was dedicated to technical discussions. Participants agreed on a set of recommendations to enhance institutional coordination on DRR policy and management, strengthen institutional capacities, defined the duties and responsibilities of different institutions involved and outlined the role of Albania in establishing a regional cooperation framework for DRR management.
During the second day of the conference participants discussed and formally endorsed the technical recommendations emerging from the “National Needs Assessment on DRR.”
