Hosted by the Ministry of Emergency Management of China, and as part of the effort to implement the consensus reached during the 14th BRICS Summit on encouraging cooperation in the field of emergency rescue and response, the BRICS Urban Search and Rescue Simulation Exercise was held both onsite and online in Beijing at the National Earthquake Response Support Service of China on July 27-29, 2022. Seven urban search and rescue teams from BRICS countries and more than 100 observers, including those from Argentina, Nigeria and Nepal, participated in the exercise virtually. The participating teams exchanged useful experience and practices in responding to disasters, so as to jointly enhance their emergency rescue and response capabilities.

The exercise simulated the whole procedure of carrying out international humanitarian rescue operations, by way of imitating earthquake disaster scenarios and setting up secondary disaster rescue tasks and tabletop exercises. In addition, the participating teams shared their good practices in emergency response system and rescue capacity building respectively. The exercise was a success, which improved the participating teams’ emergency response, coordination and action capabilities, and enhanced mutual understanding, trust and friendship.

The Chinese side emphasized that safeguarding lives involves great responsibility and humanitarian rescue operations are proud missions. China is willing to deepen practical cooperation in disaster management with all parties, so as to jointly respond to the challenges of major disasters and accidents, safeguard the safety and well-being of people in all countries, and promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Development Initiative.

(Source: Ministry of Emergency Management of China)