The OSCE organized a three-day seminar in Turkmenistan to strengthen co-operation at border crossing points in Central Asia.

A regional seminar on border crossing point (BCP) management along Central Asian transit corridors took place in Ashgabat from 4 to 6 March. The event was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

The seminar, held in a hybrid format, brought together officials from various agencies from five Central Asian countries: border, customs, migration, veterinary, phytosanitary, sanitary and epidemiological services and law enforcement agencies.

The participants exchanged experiences in the field of BCP management, integrated and harmonized border management, and data exchange.

Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, John MacGregor, noted that the OSCE actively supports the efforts of the Government of Turkmenistan to strengthen regional co-operation in the field of border management. He stressed the importance of sharing best practices and data between different services to improve the efficiency and security of border crossing points.

“The OSCE supports the efforts of the Government of Turkmenistan to strengthen bilateral and regional co-operation between border, customs and migration services, as well as law enforcement, veterinary and sanitary authorities of the participating States by facilitating the exchange of best practices in the field of border crossing point management, integrated or harmonized border management, as well as data exchange,” John MacGregor said.

The event brought together leading experts from the United Kingdom, the OSCE Secretariat’s Border Security and Management Unit, the Counter-Terrorism Travel Tracing Programme (CT Travel) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT) and the European Union’s BOMCA-10 Programme.

The UN Counter-Terrorism Travel Tracing Programme (CT Travel) provided an overview of the legal framework, areas of support and technical assistance available to Central Asian Member States, as well as the main challenges associated with the implementation of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR). The CT Travel Programme was launched in 2019 to support Member States in responding to the growing threat posed by the movement of foreign terrorist fighters.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the Centre’s extra-budgetary multi-donor project “Strengthening the Capacities of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan” with the financial support of the Government of Germany.

ORIENT