State Secretary Chupovska Ristova – Building a safe society is not a choice, but an obligation

Today (3 December), the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Elizabeta Chupovska Ristova, addressed the fifth meeting of the Platform for Dialogue on Disaster Risk Management, organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The meeting, which was held in the Government, was also addressed by the Deputy Minister of Interior, Astrit Iseni, the Austrian Ambassador, Martin Pamer, and the UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Armen Grigoryan.

State Secretary Chupovska Ristova said that building a safe society is a continuous process, which does not only include security institutions, and that it is not a choice, but an obligation.

“The readiness of the state as a whole, in terms of protection and increasing its operability, efficiency and effectiveness to respond to challenges, offers an opportunity to prevent and reduce the consequences of disasters. The key to building such a comprehensive system is in well-organized institutions with clearly defined responsibilities that will jointly guarantee the successful prevention, early warning and reduction of the consequences of disasters”, stated the State Secretary.

Chupovska Ristova also addressed the role of the Ministry of Defence and the Army in crises situations, as well as the fact that no country can cope with the challenges alone, thanking the ambassadors, as well as all NATO allies, EU partners and neighboring countries who continuously contribute to building stronger and more resilient capacities in our coun.