Armenia, France to Create Volunteer Rescue Units

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan received representatives of the French Embassy in Armenia on October 7.

In his speech, Armen Ghazaryan, emphasizing the active Armenian-French partnership, expressed hope that joint initiatives with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its subordinate bodies, particularly the Rescue Service, will be successfully implemented.

The First Counsellor of the Embassy, Julie Fort, stressed that France is interested in implementing the project to create volunteer units within the Rescue Service, which will allow for the development of rapid response capabilities in crisis situations, conduct risk and needs assessments, and improve the civil defense sector.

Armen Ghazaryan, highlighting the importance of the French side's initiative, noted that it is a priority for the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the project to also include the introduction of digital toolkits in this field.

According to him, it is also necessary to clarify the mechanisms for recruiting, training, motivating, and launching the volunteer rescue network.

In the context of implementing the project, active cooperation with European partners and the Austrian Red Cross was emphasized.

A number of issues aimed at continuing and expanding cooperation were discussed.