On the occasion of the inauguration of the National Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters in Moscow, a short video conference link session took place today at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Emergency Relief Coordination Center.

In Geneva, the event was attended by Jan Beagle, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Valery Loshchinin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office at Geneva and OCHA representatives. From Moscow, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin welcomed the opening of the National Crisis Management Center and said that the Russian Federation was fully engaged in cooperating with the United Nations. The President noted that the strengthening of this cooperation would be discussed with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his official visit to Moscow. Ms. Beagle conveyed greetings from the United Nations in Geneva and expressed appreciation for the support of the Russian Federation in the renovation of OCHA's Emergency Relief Coordination Center. The Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Serguei Shoigu, and other officials also attended the ceremony.

This event illustrates current efforts by the international community to expand the network of coordination centers worldwide, enhance support to the coordination of emergency response actions and promote the exchange of information between humanitarian partners such as the Russian Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters.