In the FRIEND system (voluntary registration of Ukrainian citizens), established to improve the security of Ukrainians traveling abroad, almost 2,000 people have already registered.

This was announced by the Director of the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergey Pogoreltsev, Ukrinform reports..

"Recently we created an electronic system of the FRIEND, the purpose of which is to help Ukrainians who went abroad. People leave their contacts before the trip. And in the event of an emergency, we have citizens' contacts, so that we can more effectively provide them with assistance. By creating this system, we studied the best world samples. While the system registered up to 2 thousand Ukrainians. This number is constantly growing. But many more about the FRIEND just do not know. Therefore, I urge the media to disseminate information about it, "Pogoreltsev said..

He added that this system is more focused on regions of high risk, but not only.

"Only recently the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted the evacuation of Ukrainians from Syria, Libya, Nepal. Not so long ago, our people were also returned from Afghanistan. But natural disasters (earthquake, flood, and t. ) or a terrorist act can occur anywhere. In addition, it is not necessarily a disaster - a person can get into some other difficult situation. FRIEND will promptly provide information on what happened, instructions, what to do next and the necessary contacts, places of collection, "- said Pogoreltsev.

He also stressed that registration is purely voluntary.

But if those who go abroad want to increase their level of security, then it is better to use this system.

By downloading the application FRIEND to the smartphone, in the World map section you can find the nearest foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine, and when you select them - all the necessary coordinates. Countries section will inform about the peculiarities of the country, customs rules, cultural and religious features, security situation. The app is available for Android and iOS.