I take great pleasure today in representing the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding with the International Amateur Radio Union.

This document, which has been discussed between the two organizations for some time, has been recently completed thanks largely to strong interest from our Secretary General Mr Markku Niskala and Mr Seppo Sisättö, Chairman of Garec 2008.

The MOU provides a formal framework for collaboration between the Red Cross / Red Crescent and the International Amateur Radio Union.

In the document we establish mechanisms whereby each organization can work with the other in delivering vital services to the community.

In particular we will be working together in disaster preparation and disaster response activities – a key focus area for volunteers within the Red Cross / Red Crescent.

We are aware of many situations where informal collaboration has proved highly effective; after a significant disaster regular communication lines are often destroyed.

The amateur radios can be the only means of communicating situation reports and alerting the wider community of the details of the disaster.

Indeed in many countries the Red Cross / Red Crescent National Societies use VHF and HF radios extensively for example to run ambulance services or warn of impending weather events.

The MOU provides for co-operation at both the policy level and the operational level.

At the policy level we hope to continue in our joint efforts to promote the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations.

Indeed IFRC has recently brought focus to the wider issues of international disaster response law through resolution 4 of the 30th International Conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent, promoting a set of guidelines for a legal framework in natural disasters.

At the operational level, we envisage that the two organizations will co-operate before, during and after disasters.

This may entails specific projects combining the capacities of each organization, or an ongoing relationship providing for preparedness before a disaster strikes.

One example of the latter would be training in the installation, use and maintenance of radio systems. These skills can be difficult to find within the Red Cross / Red Crescent volunteer community, but are available in abundance within IARU.

Of course signing such an agreement in a delightful German town is only the start of the work that we need to do.

We will be making an effort to roll out the actionable items in this MOU through the IFRC zone offices, in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and of course in Africa.

Through these regional offices, we can advise the Red Cross / Red Crescent National Societies around the world of this agreement and how they might best take advantage of the opportunities that it offers.

We look forwards to working with IARU in this endeavour.