Greek-Turkish exercise on natural disasters

Athens News Agency

May 14, 2008

A Greek-Turkish exercise on handling natural disasters was held at the installations of the Aircraft Construction Unit at Liosia, western Attica, on Wednesday.

The exercise was part of the framework for the implementation of confidence-building measures between the two countries. A similar exercise had taken place in Ankara in November 2006.

Participating in the exercise were the Greek Air Force’s Mobile Disaster Handling Group (KOMAK) and a delegation of the Turkish Special Forces Command TSK Dogal Afetler Arama/Kurtarma Timleri (DAK).

The exercise’s scenario concerned intervention by the two groups to tackle disasters in a military region, following a strong earthquake.

An exchange of gifts and a commemorative photograph followed the termination of the exercise.

In another development, a delegation of the Greek MAK unit will be visiting China on Thursday for an exchange of views on matters concerning natural disasters in light of the holding of the Olympic Games in Beijing. The visit had been scheduled and is part of the framework of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.