A number of directors of civil defense in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have expressed their thanks to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the initiative of organizing the International Symposium of Disasters Management currently in progress in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They emphasized the importance of the symposium in enhancing cooperation among the GCC countries in the field of disasters control, pointing in this regard to benefiting from academic and advanced expertise in combating disasters. The Director General of Civil Defense in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Major General Rashid Thani Al-Matrooshi said that the initiative of Directorate General of Civil Defense in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the Symposium is considered as an extension of the Kingdom's contributions to supporting cooperation and coordination among GCC civil defense directorates in relief and rescue fields. On his part, the Director General of Fire Brigade in Kuwait Major General Jassem Al-Mansouri hoped that the Symposium will contribute to activating the mechanisms of cooperation to achieve greater extent of readiness and preparedness among GCC civil defense directorates through joint training programs. On his part, the Director General of Civil Defense in Qatar, Brigadier Mohammed Al Suwaidi pointed out that cooperation among the GCC countries in the field of disaster has been been running in steady paces, wishing that the Symposium will come out with recommendations with positive impacts on the efforts of directorates concerned with confrontation of crises and disasters, in addition to increasing coordination with global organizations and bodies specialized in this area.
