On 18 and 19 June 2013, City Hall was the venue of a meeting of specialists from Vienna and Ljubljana to exchange experience on rescue from major disasters.

In July 2002, in addition to a general accord on co-operation between the cities, Vienna and Ljubljana also signed a memorandum on co-operation in the field of protection from natural and other disasters and crisis management situations. Both cities are affected by natural and other disasters such as floods, earthquakes, traffic accidents, accidents involving dangerous substances and thunderstorms. Co-operation between Vienna and Ljubljana experts also provides for the exchange of knowledge and experience, participation in various training sessions and also possible contributions to rescue forces.

“Accidents respect no borders, nor choose between people. In differing environments, all have certain similar characteristics. Therefore it is sensible that colleagues exchange experiences, because we are all here to most effectively help people in emergencies. Learning from the mistakes of others is cheapest and least painful. The same is true with good practices. It’s always sensible to observe them”, said Robert Kus, Head of Protection, Rescue and Civil Protection at the City of Ljubljana.

This year's two-day meeting of experts in Ljubljana was devoted to the exchange of information on sudden power failure over a wide area for an extended period of time and cyber security. The talks also focused on care of the population in natural and other disasters and co-operation good practice for emergency services in large scale emergencies.

In addition to experts from both city administrations, the talks were also attended by representatives from Slovenian ministries, universities and organisations dealing with these topics.