The U.S. Embassy and the Department of Defense, through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and its International Counterproliferation Programs (ICP), organized an International Joint Bioterrorism Investigations seminar in Bucharest (July 9 – 13, 2018).
Open to delegations from Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, this regional initiative was aimed to provide mid- to senior-level officials responsible for deterrence, detection, identification and response of a bioterrorism incident within their country with a broad overview of bioterrorism and its relationship with weapons of mass destruction proliferation. The roles and responsibilities among law enforcement and public health officials, as well as the benefits and challenges of conducting a joint bioterrorism incident response amongst these organizations were discussed in detail.
The importance of broad interagency and international cooperation, advanced planning and information sharing was emphasized as a key factor in dealing with weapons of mass destruction issues. The major themes of the course were illustrated through practical exercises, panel discussions and scenarios.
The General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police hosted the event in Bucharest and provided coordination throughout the planning process. Police Chief Commissioner Ciprian Miron, Deputy Chief of the Romanian Police, attended the opening ceremony along with U.S. Embassy and DTRA officials.
