Dignitaries at the conference.
DOHA: The 51st Executive Council Session of the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) kicked off at Sheraton Doha yesterday. The event is being held under the patronage of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Staff Brigadier Abdullah Muhammad Al Suwaidi, Director General of Civil Defence, said that the State of Qatar was among the foremost countries to host such conferences having belief in the importance of international cooperation and humanitarian fields.
He told reporters that Civil Defence Department will open two centres, at Hamad Port in Al Wakrah which will serve the adjoining areas.
He also said that the General Directorate is witnessing continuous development to keep pace with its counterparts in the world in terms of the development of mechanisms, equipment, training and rehabilitation of the human element with the best practices.
About response time of the fire-fighting vehicle, Al Suwaidi said that the assistance of the traffic patrols with their participation in facilitating the arrival of the teams and the awareness of the community about the importance of opening roads to the civil defense teams, help the fire brigade to reach in record time, adding that there is continuous monitoring from the Ministry of Interior and the National Command Center to avoid any delay. “No violations recorded against us in this regard.”
Al Suwaidi has appreciated the awareness among community regarding giving space on roads to ambulances and fire brigade engines which he said had helped reducing the time of response. “Also the extension of roads, opening of new roads help reducing the response time,” he said.
The Executive Board meeting was attended by 19 out of the 22 member countries of the Executive Council. With the quorum, the discussions on the agenda started and the topics and ideas proposed for the development of the Organization’s work mechanism during the next phase were also discussed.
Opening the sessions of the Executive Council, Deputy Secretary-General of ICDO, Belkacem Elketroussi, said that it was a review of the internal law of the Organization. The law, which is the backbone and core of the International Civil Defence Organization, must be re-updated and adapted to the evolving reality of the world.
