On December 4, 2018, an online meeting was held in the Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to discuss the second phase of the project “Involvement of stakeholders in solving problems related to uranium tailings in Central Asia”. The meeting was attended by employees of the Tailings Management Agency, Director of the Center for Training and Retraining of Civil Protection Specialists under the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic from Bishkek and the Territorial Department of the Center for Training and Retraining of Civil Protection Specialists, OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and Information Aarhus Centre in Osh.

The representative of the OSCE D. Prudtskih participants presented a preliminary plan of the Program Office to work with the Center for training and retraining and the Agency for the management of tailings of Ministry of Emergency. He spoke in detail about the role of UNDP and the Aarhus Centre in the project implementation process.

A.A. Seitkaziyeva, Deputy Director of the Agency for Tailings Storage, expressed the agency’s readiness to cooperate with international organizations, respectively with the OSCE, on the restoration of uranium heritage sites and public awareness.

The head of the Centre for Training and Retraining Civil Protection Specialists, colonel M. S. Beishembiyev, informed the participants about the activities of the centre and noted that the problem for the staff is the lack of transport.

The director of the Aarhus Centre, K. Isabaev, urged the participants from the Emergencies Ministry to work together and participate in events organized by both parties. He added that there is an experience of working with the center.

D. Sadikov informed the meeting participants that the center has experience working with the Aarhus Centre in Osh and with other international organizations. They have developed and published various booklets and manuals on civil protection of the population. Also, he noted about the absence of the training centre in Osh. D. Prudtsky advised the center to contact the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek with a letter about the provision of transport and the training room.

In the end, the parties agreed to cooperate as part of a project on the organization and conduct of activities related to improving the capacity of local governments and local residents in radiation safety and civil protection.

Public Relations Specialist at the Aarhus Center in Osh,

T. Zhumabekov