07 September 2015 – Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta met with Acting Director Yuri Barazhnikov and other officials of Russia’s Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies, and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters of the Russian Federation (EMERCOM) on September 01 in Moscow.
Ambassador Sorreta and Mr. Barazhnikov discussed possible cooperation between Russia and the Philippines in the area of emergency assistance to nationals caught in conflict and other crisis situations in third countries, particularly in emergency evacuations. If the Philippines is able to tap into the immense transport and logistics capabilities of Russia in terms of emergency evacuations, the safety and welfare of Filipinos caught in conflict and crisis situations would be greatly enhanced.
Mr. Barazhnikov welcomed the possibility of cooperation in this area and briefed Ambassador Sorreta on recent emergency evacuations carried out by EMERCOM around the world, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Barazhnikov also informed Ambassador Sorreta that EMERCOM has at its command its own large fleet of aircraft and ships for use in emergency situations in Russia and around the world.
Ambassador Sorreta and Mr. Barazhnikov discussed in some details Russia’s capacity to quickly deploy transport resources, particularly long-range and heavy-lift aircraft, to any part of the world for evacuation purposes. In May 2015, for instance, the EMERCOM airlifted its citizens and some foreign nationals, including two Filipinos, out of war-torn Yemen. Ambassador Sorreta expressed his deep appreciation on behalf of the Government of the Philippines for this valuable assistance.
Recalling the assistance provide by Russia within a week after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck, Ambassador Sorreta also expressed deep appreciation for the tons of canned beef stew, tuna, sugar, as well as emergency medicine modules and basic medical kits, among others, amounting to PHP 14.03 million, all of which were provide by EMERCOM.
It was in this context that the two officials also discussed the possibility of cooperating in the area of disaster relief, management and mitigation. Mr. Barazhnikov said that Russia has such cooperation agreement with several countries in East Asia, including some ASEAN member states.
Both officials agreed to continue discussions with a view to enhancing cooperation in these important areas. Also present in the meeting were Mr. Jeffrey A. Valdez, Third Secretary of the Philippine Embassy and Ms. Anna Ilyina, Head of Legal Affairs of EMERCOM. END
