Ihor Klymenko met with Jaakko Lehtovirta, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine
Today, on June 05, Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, met with the Finnish delegation headed by Jaakko Lehtovirta, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine.
The meeting was also attended by Vasyl Teteria, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Andrii Danyk, the Acting Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
As it is known, this meeting was a follow-up to the dialogue between the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and Finland. Earlier, Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, held an online meeting with Minister Mari Rantanen, where the parties discussed co-leadership in the implementation of the “Peace Formula”, effective cooperation in the field of civil protection and strengthening the capabilities of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
In particular, as part of the bilateral agreements, the Ukrainian rescuers received special vehicles and armoured containers for sheltering their teams during long-term emergency response in dangerous areas.
The main points of today’s meeting covered cooperation in upgrading the meteorological service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the implementation of agreements under the Civil Protection Mechanism.
Opening the meeting, Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, expressed his gratitude to the Finnish colleagues for the visit and noted that the Ministry highly appreciates all the assistance provided to the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and uses it exclusively for its intended purpose.
“We have quite fruitful cooperation with Finland within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We are also interested in cooperation in re-equipping our meteorological units. First and foremost, we are talking about digitalising processes that will enable us to predict dangerous meteorological phenomena after the war. Currently, our airports are not working, but after the end of the war, we will have to restore them and ensure the operation of meteorological services at airports”, – stated the Minister, addressing the partners.
In his turn, Jaakko Lehtovirta, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine, said that Finland is one of the European countries that is constantly increasing its capacity to provide civil protection and build shelters, so sharing experience with Ukraine in this area is very important.
“The Finnish government, all political parties and NGOs are unanimous in their support for Ukraine. We are keenly interested in establishing our dialogue and providing you with comprehensive support. Finland shares your aspirations and goals and we learn from each other. We also want you to become a full-fledged member of the European Union”, – said Mr. Lehtovirta.
The meeting was also attended by Harri Pietarila, Director of Export Services at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, who spoke in more detail about the results of cooperation with the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre. The matter encompasses a joint development project aimed at modernising meteorological services in Ukraine.
“In 2019, we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre, and in 2022 we started implementing a project on the meteorological service in Ukraine.
And I am pleased that the goals set for the modernisation of your service coincide with our vision. We are already seeing excellent and sustainable results within the project. We now have the potential to help Ukraine with weather forecasting using modern technologies”, – said Harri Pietarila.
“Our experts have undergone professional training and are already using the latest workstations with appropriate software and powerful servers. We are in the process of receiving 10 automated weather stations and a specialised marine meteorological station. With this equipment, we will be able to digitise the forecasting process and detect natural disaster threats in a more timely manner,” – said the Minister Ihor Klymenko.
At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their appreciation for the effective dialogue and agreed to continue exchanging experience between the Ukrainian and Finnish specialists.
Communications Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
