Guyana set to host major regional disaster response simulation

May 19, 2025 News

Kaieteur News- Guyana is set to host MECODEX 2025, a major regional disaster response simulation exercise aimed at strengthening international cooperation and improving national preparedness for flood-related emergencies.

Scheduled for May 19-22, 2025, the exercise will take place at the Pegasus Hotel & Corporate Center, the Civil Defence Commission has said. MECODEX, short for Mechanism for Disaster Cooperation Exercise, is being organized in collaboration with the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) of Guyana.

Guyana set to host major regional disaster response simulation

From Left – Lt. Col. Mark Thomas, Deputy Director General, CDC Col. Nazrul Hussain, Director General, CDC Col. Josè Carlos Diaz Torres, IDB & Col. Glauco Dos Santos Cândido, IDB

The exercise brings together disaster response experts, military officials, and humanitarian agencies from across the Americas to test and refine coordinated strategies in a simulated flood scenario. It is designed to rigorously evaluate the operational readiness of local agencies while fostering regional solidarity in disaster risk management.

Speaking today on the event, Colonel Nazrul Hussain, Director General of the CDC, emphasized the significance of the event: “To host the leadership of the Inter-American Defence Board is a great honour and augurs well for our civil-military coordination. We welcome the foreign delegations and look forward to a successful exercise here in Guyana.”

Lt. Col. Mark Thomas, Deputy Director General of the CDC, also noted the significance of the exercise for national readiness: “This is more than just a drill. It is a strategic opportunity to strengthen inter-agency coordination, evaluate our response mechanisms, and build the confidence of those entrusted with safeguarding lives during disasters.”

MECODEX 2025 is supported under the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), with the IADB acting as the permanent secretariat of the MECODEX mechanism. The initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure that international assistance, when needed, is both timely and effective, while fully respecting the sovereignty of member states.

Colonel José Carlos Diaz Torres of Brazil highlighted the technical tools that support the exercise: “Platforms like SICODE, developed by the Military Institute of Engineering in Brazil, allow participating countries to simulate real-world challenges and fine-tune their response protocols. This exercise is strictly humanitarian in nature and underscores the value of regional preparedness.”

Colonel Glauco Dos Santos Cândido, also of Brazil, emphasized the importance of hemispheric collaboration, stating, “MECODEX reflects our shared commitment to improving humanitarian assistance mechanisms so that, when disaster strikes, aid can be delivered swiftly, respectfully, and in full coordination with national authorities.”

The opening ceremony for the MECODEX 2025 exercise will take place on the afternoon of Monday, May 19, 2025. The exercise, now in its fourth iteration, was previously hosted in Peru (2024) and Ecuador (2023), following its initial exercise as a virtual tabletop event in 2022.

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