25-02-2024 13:31
A partnership agreement on international affairs, projects and staff training was signed last week in the Kingdom of Norway. It is between the International Cooperation and Staff Training Unit at the Directorate General for the Execution of Penalties (DGEP) and the International Cooperation Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service, and the heads of both units — Nadia Radkovska and Kim Ekhaugen — signed the document. The DGEP is the first institution from the beneficiary countries in the Justice Sector under the NFM 2014 — 2021 to sign such an agreement.
The event took place in the framework of a working visit to Oslo, which took place from 21 to 23 February this year. The delegation, led by the Deputy Minister of Justice Georgi Nikolov, included the Director General of the DGEP, Chief Commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov. The programme included joint working meetings with delegations from Poland and Romania, with the participation of the relevant Deputy Ministers and heads of prison systems from the other beneficiaries.
The aim of the discussions at the Norwegian Correctional Service was to present the projects from the current programming period and to exchange ideas for bilateral activities. The hosts strongly appreciated the progress made in the activities of Programme Area 19 ‘Correctional Services and Pre-trial Detention’ and stated that the Norwegian Correctional Service will continue to support the efforts of the Ministry of Justice and the DGEP for an effective reform of the correctional system.
The working visit ended with a visit to Ringerike Prison, where the delegation was briefed on the conditions, capacity and security system of the penitentiary.