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| Updated: 27-May-2003 | May 2003 |
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Meeting
with partners of the The NATO Planning Board for Inland Surface Transport (PBIST) conducted its plenary meeting with partner countries on 12 and 13 May 2003 in Bern, Switzerland. The meeting was both an information sharing and decision-making meeting. It focused on the new security challenges and addressed a range of issues including: civil-military cooperation; Inland Surface Transport crisis management arrangements; contribution to the Civil Emergency Planning Action Plan, including the improvement of civil preparedness against Chemical, Biological & Radiological (CBR) risks; involvement of PBIST planners in the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Relief Coordination Centre and other exercises, especially on consequence management; and training events, including the 2004 PBIST Industry Day. The participants also looked at Reception Staging and Onward Movements (RSOM) in Crisis Response operations. The possibility of contributing to the development of procedures for the utilisation of civil experts from partner countries in times of crisis was examined as well. The PBIST delegations also agreed a document that describes how the inland waterways within Europe could be used more efficiently for the transportation of emergency related cargo. The meeting was attended by 74 representatives from NATO and partner countries and from NATO military authorities. It was conducted in plenary session on 12 May and extended by a technical visit to the Loetschberg railway tunnel project on 13 May 2003. This visit was an opportunity for PBIST planners and industry experts to obtain a better understanding of new capabilities being developed in different countries. PBIST planning takes into account the international character of inland transport and seeks to facilitate access to commercial transport world-wide. It is essential that its planners maintain an awareness of the current situation in industry, including developments with regard to national capabilities and arrangements. PBIST is also developing close cooperation with partner countries, and Switzerland - whose Transport Unit of National Economic Supply hosted the meeting - plays a very active role in the PBIST and provides the modal co-ordinator for road transport. Additional information:
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