Visit of the Japanese Delegation
Date: (24-09-2025)
The official visit emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific countries to strengthen their crisis management and disaster response capabilities.
Deputy Director, CAPT (N) Theodoros Pachis, welcomed Mr. Kaneko and introduced him to the purpose, concept and structure of the CMDR COE. CAPT (N) Pachis highlighted the importance of cooperation and partnership in order to achieve common goals. The close collaboration with partners not only in NATO but also in the EU was also emphasized during the meeting, as well as the increasing number of approved and listed NATO courses offered by the CMDR COE to both Allies and partner countries.
During the discussions with the CMDR COE team, the Japanese delegation explored the possibilities for further cooperation within the framework of the Strategic Partnership established between Japan and Bulgaria (as hosting nation of the CMDR COE) earlier this year.
At the end of the day, the CMDR COE was recognized as an educational hub that provides models and simulations of different types of disasters in all scenarios and successfully prepares personnel to respond to such disasters and to mitigate their consequences, while the Japanese Ministry of Defense representatives assured that they could provide expertise for critical situations related to earthquakes, forest fires and floods, as well as know-how on concrete procedures of action.
News

On 11-12 December 2013, the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) co-hosted together with US European Command (USEUCOM) and the US embassy in Bulgaria the workshop Visualizing Implications of Climate Change on Military Activities and Relationships. The opening remarks were given by the Deputy Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, Mr. Ivan Ivanov, who welcomed the participants and underlined the importance of the topics that the workshop focused on.
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