The Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center celebrates its fifth anniversary

The Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center celebrates its fifth anniversary, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS.

“Today marks five years since representatives of Russia and Serbia signed an agreement on establishing the Russian-Serbian Center in the southern Serbian city of Nis. It is a unique center meant exclusively for humanitarian activities – helping, rescuing and organizing interaction in dealing with man-made accidents and natural disasters,” the ministry said.

According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, over the past five years, the capabilities of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center have proved their effectiveness while dealing with the aftermath of the devastating floods in Serbia and other Balkan countries in May 2014. “Russian specialists were the first to come to the rescue to Serbia’s population. Within 48 hours, they evacuated more than 2,000 people, including 600 children, from the flood area in the city of Obrenovac. In addition to that, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s aircraft delivered more than 140 tonnes of various humanitarian cargo to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of this operation,” the ministry said. The center’s joint Russian-Serbian detachment has been clearing Serbia’s territory from explosive objects since 2008.

On Wednesday, a delegation of the Russian Emergencies Ministry arrived to Serbia’s Nis for a working visit.

“The Russian delegation will watch the drills that will bring together Serbian rescuers and representatives of volunteer organizations. They will also visit the training center and other facilities where rescuers are trained,” the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

Members of the Russian delegations and their Serbian counterparts will also take part in a meeting of the board of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center, discuss the prospects for its development and attend the opening ceremony of the “Five years in the Balkans” forum dedicated to the center’s fifth anniversary.