TİKA’s Search and Rescue Training Continues in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) completed the “Advanced Search and Rescue in Nature Training (ADAMEP),” which was held in the region of Blagaj, Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina from November 26 to December 1, 2019 in cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ministry of Security, and Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH).

As part of the Advanced Search and Rescue in Nature Training, organized in the region of Blagaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a total of 27 people from the Civil Protection Administrations of Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and mountain search and rescue teams in more than 10 cities were trained in cooperation with TİKA and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ministry of Security.

Trainees were given theoretical and applied training in many different fields related to search and rescue activities in nature such as the organization of the team, the movement pattern, proceeding to the scene, and rescue methods.

27 trainees were awarded certificates at the ceremony organized at the end of the joint drill held at Mount Velež and in the valleys of the Buna River in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Republic of Turkey’s Consul General to Mostar Kudret Oytan; Advisor for International Cooperation to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Security Samir Agić; Deputy Director of Civil Protection Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republika Srpska Biljana Pajiç; TİKA Sarajevo Program Coordinator Ömer Faruk Alımcı; and IHH Search, Rescue, and Disaster Management General Coordinator Emre Yerli attended the certification ceremony.

In his speech, IHH Search, Rescue, and Disaster Management General Coordinator Emre Yerli said that these training programs aim to train qualified personnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina and form self-sufficient search and rescue teams to respond to disasters. Yerli stated that IHH will continue to organize such training programs in cooperation with TİKA, and congratulated the trainees who successfully completed the training.

Deputy Director of Civil Protection Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republika Srpska Biljana Pajiç expressed her gratitude to all the organizations that contributed to the training program, and congratulated the trainees who successfully completed the program.

TİKA Sarajevo Program Coordinator Ömer Faruk Alımcı stated that the recent earthquakes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania highlighted the importance of organizing such training programs and training qualified search and rescue personnel. Alımcı expressed his gratitude to especially Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ministry of Security, IHH, and AFAD for their cooperation and said that he hoped such training programs, which play an important role in saving lives, would continue.

Samir Agić, Advisor for International Cooperation to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Security, congratulated the instructors who trained the search and rescue personnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina for contributing to the program and sharing their experiences. He added that the Ministry was pleased with the program and ready to provide support to continue the project.

In his speech, the Republic of Turkey’s Consul General to Mostar Kudret Oytan congratulated the instructors and trainees who touched people’s lives, and said that the Republic of Turkey will always support Bosnia and Herzegovina. Oytan congratulated TİKA, İHH, and AFAD and stated that the cooperation between the two countries and their institutions will continue. He added that such drills and training programs are crucial to ensure that the search and rescue personnel can prepare as quickly as possible and respond to disasters effectively.