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Border guards and customs officers of Central Asia, as well as experts from a number of international organizations discussed in Tashkent the problems of border security in the Central Asian region with an emphasis on the events in Afghanistan. They considered ways to address transnational threats that may affect neighboring States.

The meeting was held in the Uzbek capital as part of the 17th conference of the Central Asian Border Management Initiative (CABMI) from December 13 to 15. The forum was attended by officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of AIRPOL, the EU Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA-10), EUROPOL, INTERPOL, IOM, UNAMA, UNODC and UNOCT. The delegates of the conference were also experts from Germany, Turkey and the United States of America, - said in a statement published on the official website of the OSCE.

The conference focused on the problems arising in the field of security and border management related to the new situation in the region due to the events in Afghanistan. The participants exchanged information about the current situation in their country and shared experiences and best practices applied at the border in different conditions.

“Enhanced cross-border cooperation between Member States is a vital component of preventing and countering transnational organized crime, terrorism and illicit trafficking. We must strengthen communication and exchange intelligence on the situation at the border in order to jointly stop illegal flows, including drugs, firearms, FTF movement and people smuggling. At the same time, it is necessary to promote and support legitimate international trade, act together and develop cybersecurity. UNODC fully supports these efforts within the framework of the Program for Central Asia for 2022-2025 and other regional and global initiatives,” said Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia.

After the discussions, the forum participants went to the National Training Center for Dog Handlers of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

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