Importantly, this seminal milestone builds on a series of important set of policy reforms to strengthen the country’s disaster resilience. In the two decades since the Spitak earthquake, the government has also passed influential legislation to enhance risk reduction and emergency management systems, such as the 2008 Law on Prevention of Emergency Situations. In 2010, the government established a National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which aims to coordinate and consolidate DRM efforts. In 2012, it developed a National Strategy on Disaster Risk Reduction, along with an action plan.
In 2016, Armenia’s Deputy Minister and Head of Crisis Management Center under the Ministry of Emergency Situations attended Japan’s 36th Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Drill of Nine Prefectural and City Governments in Saitama City, and learned about Japan’s experience in disaster preparedness and response systems at national and local levels. Finally, thanks to technical assistance extended by UN OCHA, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UNDP and Rescue Service of Poland, the Government of the Republic of Armenia was also the first country in the South Caucasus to be accredited by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) in 2015, which enables the Ministry of Emergency Situations to be deployed in international urban search and rescue efforts as part of post-earthquake response operations.