Armen Pambukhchyan, RA Minister of Internal Affairs, today received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Armenia, Mr. Nicholas Jacob Schermers.

"During the meeting, I thanked the ambassador for the initiative and noted that the Ministry of Emergency Situations is always ready to deepen the existing cooperation and discuss new proposals.

In response, the ambassador thanked the reception and noted that the embassy has just started its mission in Armenia and now has the task of activating Armenian-Dutch cooperation in various fields. The main goal of his visit is to outline possible directions in many emergencies.

The ambassador cited the three main areas considered his country's priorities: democracy, human rights, and suitable governance mechanisms. He noted that the issue of gender equality is strongly emphasized in the policy of the Dutch government.

In response, I stated that the priorities cited by the ambassador are based on solid foundations in the activities of the RA government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and that the personnel policy of the ministry is based on this very principle.

Women participate and hold high positions in the ministry and the civil service system on an equal competitive basis and receive high officer ranks.

I emphasized that although the Netherlands is the most frequently affected by floods, the risk of forest fires is also high and that Armenia is ready to share its rich experience in fighting forest fires. I presented to the ambassador the Armenian experience of combating forest fires in recent years in the form of significant and continuously more minor recurring incidents in the Khosrov reserve. I informed them that in this regard, the Ministry of Emergency Situations is constantly improving its capabilities and skills and is ready to cooperate with the authorities of the Netherlands. For activation and experience sharing.

During the meeting, it was also noted that active work is being done on creating volunteer squads, which implies increasing the number of first responders in hard-to-reach areas and improving their capabilities.

The ambassador welcomed the idea of ​​developing volunteer squads and noted that he is aware of the ongoing work and personally got acquainted with the activities of volunteers in the Khosrov reserve.

Referring to the Azerbaijani aggression on September 13, 2022, Ambassador Schemers said that, among diplomatic representatives of other countries, he visited Jermuk, Vardenis, and Sock and got acquainted with the situation there. The ambassador emphasized that the MES staff's highly professional training in the safe evacuation and protection of the population in the target areas is highly characteristic.

Addressing the subject of the creation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the ambassador said that the Netherlands took part in the development of deportations in terms of consultation. He also stated that he is ready to act as a contact person in forming the planned cooperation between the newly created ministry and the Ministry of the Interior of the Netherlands. Also, He undertook to develop cooperative ties on the discussed topics, both in the fields of forest fires and seismology," Armen Pambukhyan informed on his Facebook page.