The Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov Opened a Round Table Conference on the Volunteer Formations - Important and Valuable Part in the Fight against Disasters and Fires

Minister Boyko Rashkov expressed thankfulness to Prof. Dimitrov for his assistance and noted that he doesn`t feel exactly as a guest because he is a lecturer at the UNWE. He welcomed the organizers and participants in the Forum and outlined: "The fight with natural disasters and their consequences becomes larger and larger part of our daily lives. Enhancing the security of society is a priority and an important part of the overall security policy. For any modern state, the protection of population in the event of fires and natural disasters as well as the protection of property, cultural and material assets is an important and responsible task. In the modern conditions the only way to achieve a more successful outcome in this battle is through uniting the efforts and capacities of the state and civil society. The whole of society needs a sustainable system to provide better protection. In this system, in addition to the fire safety and public protection authorities the citizens have an increasingly important and active role to play by participating in voluntary formations to prevent or manage disasters, fires and emergencies and to deal with their consequences. The process of creation and development of the volunteer formations as part of the unified rescue system of the country has been lunched in 2012 and I am glad that today it continues running with full force. With the new strategy adopted in 2021 we will build up what has been achieved so far and will work to form a resource of trained, equipped and capable of independent action volunteer formations to ensure the protection of the population in partnership with local authorities, businesses, schools and NGOs", said Minister Rashkov.