Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Minister of State for Defence Affairs Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, Minister of Transport HE Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti, Minister of Municipalities and Urban Planning HE Sheikh Abdurahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulazeez al-Thani, Major General Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem and Brigadier Abdullah bin Mohamed al-Suweidi at the opening of the 5th Civil Defence Exhibition and Conference in Doha on Monday: PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam
By Ramesh Mathew
Staff Reporter
The Civil Defence has been successful in raising awareness about safety among the country's residents since the first exhibition on safety, security and public awareness was held in 2007, said Organising Committee chairman of the 5th Civil Defence Exhibition and Conference Brigadier Abdullah bin Mohamed al-Suweidi.
Informing this at the opening of the Civil Defence exhibition and conference at the newly built Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) Brigadier al-Suwaidi said the demand for adopting new methods and solutions that could effectively answer the ever-growing concerns of the public has been steadily growing across the region, particularly in Qatar.
Earlier, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani inaugurated the three-day event, the first ever at the sprawling venue.
"Situations have been changing over the years, so too is the demand for adopting new methodologies," said Brigadier al-Suweidi while delivering the keynote address.
The exhibition, he said, is not only restricted to promoting and marketing safety and security equipment but it also contributes to showcasing and raising awareness among the residents about the new methods and strategies adopted for safety and security at different levels across the world.
The country stands to gain considerably from such events as it would help the security forces implement plans and projects in improving services to safeguard the people, said Brigadier al-Suweidi.
There is a growing awareness about "sustainable Development and reduction and elimination of disasters" among the people across the world and this is one of the reasons why the exhibition and conference have adopted it as the main theme of the three-day event, said the official.
Brigadier al-Suweidi said the country is keen to adopt new methods and strategies for achieving sustainable development in line with the requirements of the Qatar National Vision 2030, which emphasises the need to enhance the personal competence of its citizens, based on the four pillars of development, namely human, social, economical and environmental.
While deliberating on the issue of sustainable development, Brigadier al-Suweidi said the increasing temperatures across the world are causing considerable heartburn and thus raising challenges on a host of areas.
There is a greater need to find answers at the local, regional and global levels to such issues as rising temperatures and growing sea surfaces. Also, there is a greater necessity to reduce and eliminate natural calamities and disasters, he said.
While reaffirming the commitment of the General Department of the Civil Defence in upgrading safety and security equipment and also the skills of its personnel, Brigadier al-Suweidi said the department has undertaken studies at different levels and was carrying out an array of construction activities and applying creative methods to attain international standards in its practices.
HE the Minister of State for Defence Affairs Major General Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah, Minister of Transport HE Jassem Saif al-Sulaiti, Minister of Municipality and Urban Development HE Sheikh Abdurahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulazeez al-Thani, HE Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem and senior Qatari citizen and prominent enterpreneur Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani were among others present at the opening.
