Crisis management centre wraps up major drill

AMMAN — HRH Prince Ali, director of the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management, on Monday attended the concluding ceremony of the "2017 Fortified Fortress" drill that saw the participation of security apparatuses and several state institutions.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki, who is also chairman of the board of directors of the centre, attended the drill, designed as an experiment to evaluate mechanisms of responding to crises and the coordination capabilities of concerned institutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

The exercise included various phases to assess the effectiveness of strategic and executive plans prepared to deal with all forms of crises, in addition to drills that simulated expected real-life scenarios.

All participating institutions showed "an advanced level" in dealing with various forms of crises, were "able to adapt" to emergencies, and exhibited agility and swiftness in their reactions to the simulated situations, along with a high degree of coordination, cooperation and exchanging information with other agencies, according to Petra.

At the closing ceremony, Brig. Gen. Adnan Abbadi, deputy director of the centre, presented a briefing on the outcome of the drill.

His Majesty King Abdullah in January, 2008, entrusted Prince Ali with the establishment of the centre.

In a letter to the Prince, the King said the centre, which he described as a “national necessity”, should function within a national framework to coordinate and unify efforts and capabilities to confront and manage any form of crisis the Kingdom might face, in addition to undertaking necessary crisis planning.

His Majesty, along with HRH Crown Prince Hussein, was at the centre to follow up firsthand on a successful operation to neutralise terrorists in a village near Karak in December.