Russia to help Cuba establish emergency training center

Russia to help Cuba establish emergency training center
Sergei Shoigu
05:4313/11/2009

HAVANA, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will help Cuba establish a
training center for defense and emergencies services specialists,
Russia's emergencies minister said.

Sergei Shoigu, who is currently on a working visit in the Cuban capital
Havana, said he had signed a memorandum and a plan on cooperation with
Cuban Civil Defence Chief Ramon Pardo Guerra on Thursday.

"The main point of the plan is the establishment of an [emergency]
training center," the minister said, adding the center is intended not
only for training specialists, but also for providing a "fast response
to various emergencies."

The minister said the center, expected to be established by 2010, will
prepare a wide range of specialists, including rescuers, firemen and
divers, as well as civil defense specialists.

Shoigu also said Russia will help Cuba modernize its meteorological and
seismological systems.

Cuba, located across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, is prone to
frequent hurricanes. Three storms devastated the Caribbean island last
summer, causing more than $10 billion in damage.

Russia to help Cuba establish emergency training center | Top Russian
news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire (13 November 2009)
http://en.rian.ru/world/20091113/156816486.html