Another important step in regional cooperation on disaster management was taken in March with the execution of a full-scale exercise (FSX) covering the wider Jordan River region, which includes Jordan, Israel and Palestine (JIP).
The objective of the exercise, which was conducted as part of the PDEX (Professional Dialogue Exercise) project funded by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO), was to enhance disaster preparedness in the region.
This will be achieved by increasing the interoperability of the affected States which in turn will result in effective Host Nation Support (HNS) and promote broader international cooperation in disaster response.
The scenario of the exercise, which was conducted simultaneously in Israel and Palestine with the participation of Jordan, was based on an earthquake scenario in the Jordan-Israel-Palestine region with the consequent activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the cooperation with local emergency management agencies, EU Delegations in the region and the United Nations.
The PDEX project supports the analysis of the Civil Protection situation in the JIP region and aims to prepare a concrete and standardised regional and cross-border operating procedure (SOP) for a closer operational cooperation in case of a complex emergency. It also trains all parties on Host Nation Support (HNS) issues.
It is worth noting that CERIDES Excellence in Innovation and Technology – European University Cyprus assumed the responsibility of coordinating the 18-month project whose final meeting will be organised next May in Cyprus by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus and CERIDES as PDEX coordinator. Observers representing the official civil protection bodies from several European countries flew to the area to overview the implementation of the FSX.
The PDEX project consortium consists of the following members:
JOHANNITER-UNFALL-HILFE EV (Germany)
