Greece, Cyprus sign deal on dealing with natural disasters

Justice Minister Stephie Dracou and Greek Minister for Climate Change and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides on Monday signed an agreement for further cooperation between the two countries’ fire services.

The protocol calls for the two fire services to exchange know-how, including professional experiences and operational coordination.

Another step taken is to further increase cooperation between the operation centres of the two countries during natural disasters.

Dracou said that with the signing of the protocol, Cyprus and Greece under the umbrella of Europe could become part of a wider cooperation framework in the Mediterranean.

She thanked Stylianides for the cooperation and commended his work as EU commissioner previously to create the rescEU programme that established a new European reserve of resources (the ‘rescEU reserve’). It includes a fleet of firefighting planes and helicopters, medical evacuation planes, and a stockpile of medical items and field hospitals that can respond to health emergencies.