International Civil Defence meet begins in Doha today

Dohawill host the 51st Executive Council meeting and 23rd General Assemblyof the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) for three daysfrom today. A number of ministers and senior officials from 48 countrieswill take part in the event which will discuss a number of topicsrelated to the organisation’s line of work, its development, internallaws and future plans. The event will witness a field exercise byQatar’s General Directorate of Civil Defence in collaboration with theSearch and Rescue team of Lekhwiya at Ras Laffan Emergency College. Thedetails were announced at a meeting yesterday by the General Directorateof Civil Defence Director General Brigadier Abdullah Mohamedal-Suwaidi, ICDO Secretary-General Vladimir Kuvshinov and DeputySecretary-General Belkacem Elketroussi.Al-Suwaidi said fieldexercise will have the participation of all the specialised entities inQatar. He explained that the exercise, aimed to highlight the greatcapabilities of Qatar in the humanitarian field, will be attended byobserver countries Singapore, Turkey, India, Australia, Kuwait, Oman andJordan. ICDO Secretary-General Kuvshinov said the meeting will alsogive a chance for the participants to take a close look at the civildefence facilities in Qatar and its great potential in this field.DeputySecretary-General Elketroussi described the event as a “historicalmeeting”, as it is held for the first time in the Arab region.