Interior Minister visited firefighters deployed in Greece

Chisinau, Aug. 2 /MOLDPRES/- Interior Minister Adrian Efros met in Greece with 20 firefighters deployed on an international firefighting mission in Nea Makri area. The official noted Moldova's commitment to the common European effort and wished them a safe return home, according to the press release of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU).

Efros said that participation in international missions is essential for increasing the response capacity and improving cooperation with European partners. "It is a source of pride to see Moldovan firefighters actively involved in fighting forest fires in the Hellenic Republic. Their participation in these international missions demonstrates not only their professionalism, but also our commitment to contribute to joint European efforts. I congratulate them for their dedication and courage and wish them every success in carrying out interventions alongside their Greek colleagues," he said.

From July 16 to August 15, the firefighting team from the Republic of Moldova participates in the pre-positioning mission within the European Pre-positioning Programme of Forest Firefighting Equipment in the Hellenic Republic, Nea Makri region, organized under the auspices of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The aim of the program is to reduce the response time to forest fires, to monitor and extinguish outbreaks in the locations determined by local forces, and to improve interoperability between intervention teams.

The program is financed by the European Union, with part of the costs borne by the Republic of Moldova, and managed by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), with the main objective of improving the response capacity and cooperation between intervention teams from different European countries.