Disaster response conference underway in Almaty

An anti-disaster conference is underway in the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty, aimed at sharing information and experience in terms of response to emergency situations. "The issue is to develop common efforts and coordinate activities in preventing emergency situations and eradicating those situations related to the utilisation of weapons of mass destruction," Eldar Kunaev, the head of the disaster prevention department at the Kazakh emergency situations agency told IRIN from Almaty on Wednesday. Representatives of four Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan [Turkmenistan didn't attend the event] along with Afghanistan and Pakistan, are participating in the four-day conference, which began on Monday under the auspices and support of the US Central Command (Centcom) and the Kazakh emergency situations agency. Kunaev said that the delegations of the participating countries were headed by high-ranking officials of the emergency ministries/agencies. "A department director and an admiral of Centcom, together with an assistant to the deputy defence secretary, are representing the US," he said, noting that the US Embassy in Kazakhstan was also supporting the conference. "The Americans have got a great deal of experience after the events of 11 September 2001. Therefore they want to provide assistance and share their experience," the Kazakh official said. A military official said that the main goal of the conference was to share information and promote cooperation among the countries of Central Asia and the US on response to disasters, both natural and man-made ones. He said that it was more of a response to various forms of disasters, then prevention, emphasising the importance of the event as an opportunity to share views and further promote regional cooperation. The conference is expected to end on Thursday.