NEW DELHI. April 20 (Interfax) - The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry is analyzing foreign practices for helping civilian populations in distress, Minister Alexander Kurenkov said.
"To improve [Russian] laws on assisting citizens made homeless or who have lost property in emergencies, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has been studying the practices of foreign states," Kurenkov said at a meeting of emergency situations ministers from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in New Delhi on Thursday.
The minister proposed arranging a virtual seminar this year to promote such cooperation.
"It is crucial for us to know how this issue is addressed in SCO member states, how large the compensations paid to their citizens are, and how this applies to foreign citizens permanently residing in their [countries]," Kurenkov said.
Joint activity "will make a significant contribution to ensuring the security of the civilian population in SCO member states," he said.
Kurenkov arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to meet with his SCO colleagues.
The SCO comprises Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In addition, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are observer states.