The Ministry of Interior of Montenegro - Rescue and Protection Directorate, which is one of the partners of the project To Be Ready, financed through the INTERREG IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro programme, has organised an Info Day on Tuesday, 23 November 2021, within the facilities of the Rescue and Protection Service of Podgorica.

Besides the information about the project, the attendees had the opportunity to see a presentation of the newly purchased multifunctional robotic system. The value of the robotic system is 949.502,40 €, and it has multiple purposes for the needs of the protection and rescue system, and can be used for protection and rescue operations in case of technical and technological hazards(large-scale fires in production facilities, in case of traffic accidents, chemical and biological hazards, removal of mine explosive devices, as well as during natural disasters i.e. flooding, removal of rubble in case of earthquakes, extinguishing forest fires, etc.). Future use of such kind of technology will significantly increase the safety of rescuers and minimise risk for their lives.

Zoran Miljanić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, said he was pleased that the Montenegrin protection system has been improved with this specialised form of equipment, which is confirmation that the Ministry of Interior is following modern trends in protection and rescue. "In addition to the functional importance of this equipment, I want to emphasize another important dimension, which is regional cooperation," he said, adding that through this project Montenegro confirms to be a credible partner to the European partners, in addition to many other similar projects implemented so far.

Miodrag Bešović, Acting General Director of Rescue and Protection Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, said that this highly sophisticated system will improve the response to natural and technical and technological disasters and contribute to the implementation of protection and rescue operations with much more security, because this robotic system is used from a safe distance and replaces rescuers in situations where they would otherwise risk their their lives.

Ingve Engstrom, head of the Cooperation Sector at the EU Delegation to Montenegro, said the EU's cross-border programmes are designed to support local people and promote common European values of trust, mutual respect and cooperation. "Natural disasters know no borders and therefore neighbours need to jointly deal with risk management and civil protection. The To Be Ready project not only modernizes the natural hazard management system and creates new knowledge, but strengthens connections and solidarity across the region. The European Union will continue to push for a green agenda, the fight against climate change, as well as disaster prevention and mitigation. We will continue to finance projects in this area in Montenegro," he said.

Luka Zelioli, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Montenegro, announced that the TO BE READY project is being implemented in Italy – in the regions of Molise and Apulia, Montenegro and the Republic of Albania, and that the project aims to strengthen cross-border cooperation in the prevention of the risk of natural disasters and other accidents. He thanked the Ministry of Interior for its active role in the project and stressed that working together is necessary to achieve the goal of protecting people's lives.

Ivana Vujošević, adviser to the Chief Negotiator of Montenegro, congratulated the partners on the project and successful realization of the activities so far, and expressed expectations that all other activities will be implemented just as efficiently and successfully in the remaining implementation period, until June 2022. Thanking the European Union for its continued support, she said that this modern equipment will be very important for Montenegro. "Natural disasters are of importance to all countries involved in this programme and require joint reflection and a common response. That is why through the exchange of knowledge and experience, learning from our EU partners, joint exercises and the acquisition of modern equipment, such as the one presented today, we contribute to achieving greater readiness of our protection and rescue services to respond to natural disasters and technological hazards and we are approaching EU standards in the field of civil protection," Vujosević said.

Radomir Scepanović, Head of the Directorate for Operational Affairs at the Rescue and Protection Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, who is also the Project Coordinator, expressed his gratitude to all partners and satisfaction with the significant contribution of the project to the Montenegrin rescue system, emphasizing that results of this project will not only facilitate the work in field, but also show that Montenegro is making true efforts to improve functionality of its protection and rescue system.

The total value of the project is 5,893,687 €, with European Union covering 85% of the total project costs, and budget for Montenegro is 1,216,500 €.

Watch the video broadcast by TV Vijesti.