Bulgaria and Japan are holding a seminar for partners from the Western Balkans
09 November 2021 News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Japan are co-organizers of a seminar for partners from the Western Balkans on "Challenges posed by earthquake risk", which is funded by Bulgarian official development assistance. The host of the event on November 8-11, 2021 is the Fire Safety and Protection of the Population General Directorate at the Ministry of Interior.
Bulgaria and Japan work closely together for the development of the Western Balkan countries and their integration into Europe, and this seminar is part of a joint effort to contribute to strengthening the region's disaster response capacity and resilience. The seminar is attended by experts from various departments from Bulgaria, Japan and the Western Balkans, the World Bank Group and Croatia.
The aim is to share the experience and knowledge of Bulgarian, Japanese and foreign experts with partners from the Western Balkans in the field of disaster risk management and in particular on the challenges associated with earthquake risk, including in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. Emphasis is also placed on the application of modern technologies, for which purpose representatives of several private companies from Japan, the European Space Agency, the EU Agency for the Space Program, as well as representatives of the scientific community from Bulgaria and Japan have been invited.
Welcoming speeches at the opening of the seminar were made by the Deputy Minister of Interior Ventsislav Katinov, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Zaritsa Dinkova, the Ambassador of Japan to Bulgaria Narahira Hiroshi, the Deputy Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo Snezhana Daneva-Ivanova and the representative of the office of the Prime Minister of Japan Murakami Takeo.