Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                      25 March 2018

The 51st Executive Council Meeting and 23rd General Assembly of International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO) will kick off on Monday, with the presence of ministers and senior officials from 48 countries specialized in emergencies and civil defense.

The three-day event will discuss a number of topics related to the organization's line of work, its development, internal laws and future plans. This will contribute to promoting joint global work in the field of civil defense and protecting lives and properties. The event will witness a field exercise by General Directorate of Civil Defense in collaboration with Search and Rescue team of Lekhwiya at Ras Laffan Emergency College.

Brig. Abdullah Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of General Directorate of Civil Defense , in a meeting with Secretary General of ICDO Dr. Vladimir Kuvshinov and Deputy Secretary General Belkacem Elketroussi, said the session will be one of the most prominent events held by the organization, due to the vital and important issues being discussed, which positively reflects on the upcoming phase.

Al Suwaidi said the event will include a field exercise by General Directorate of Civil Defense in collaboration with Search and Rescue team of Lekhwiya with the participation of all the specialized entities in the country. He added that the exercise aims to highlight the great capabilities of the State of Qatar in the humanitarian field and will be attended by seven observer countries which are Singapore, Turkey, India, Australia, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan.

Al Suwaidi highlighted the great number of attendees from the member states adding that the exceptional attendance demonstrates Qatar's international standing and its leading role in promoting international action and credibility in international forums and its outstanding contributions to rescue and humanitarian work.

On his part, the Secretary General of ICDO valued the hosting of the event by the State of Qatar amidst the attendance of ministries and senior officials from ministries and entities specialized in civil defense and civil protection from the member states in the executive council and the general assembly, in addition to the observers. He added that the meetings will be one of the most important events in the history of the organization and humanitarian action in general.

Kuvshinov added that the meeting will be a platform to exchange ideas and joint expertise to develop the mechanisms of civil defense in member states. It will also give a chance to the attendees to take a close look at the civil defense facilities in Qatar and its great potential in this field, expressing his confidence that the meetings would be fruitful and qualitative in the organization's path.

On his part, Deputy Secretary General Belkacem Elketroussi described the event as a historical meeting, as it is held for the first time in the Arab region, and will discuss modernization of the organization's internal law and it is expected to be approved in Doha and will be named after it. He added that Doha's request to host the event was endorsed by member states at the Geneva meeting last year.

Elketroussi referred to the high level attendance of the event comprised of civil defense and emergency ministers, senior officials, officers and directors-generals of the member states of the organization. This came due to the facilities provided by Qatar, and the topics discussed by the participants which is related to developing the organization's work, he added.

The ICDO was founded in 1931 and includes 57 states in the General Assembly, 17 Observer States and 23 Affiliated Members of international bodies or corporations.

It is an intergovernmental organization with the objective to contribute to the development by states of structures ensuring the protection and assistance of population and safeguarding property and the environment from natural or man-made disasters.