DUSHANBE, March 7, 2014, Asia-Plus – International community has spent €45 million for modern technical means to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border management.
Deputy chief of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan (SCNS), Mansourjon Umarov, stated this on March 5 at conference on ways to enhance border management and cross-border cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
“Donor countries are currently providing support for strengthening security on the Tajik-Afghan border in connection with withdrawal of international coalition forces from Afghanistan,” said Umarov. “The situation is expected to become worse and we hope that Afghan authorities have resources to settle the situation.”
According to him, the past three years have seen 38 skirmishes between Tajik law enforcement authorities and armed drug smugglers on the Tajik-Afghan border. 36 drug smugglers were killed in those skirmishes. More than 3,500 kilograms of drugs and 120 firearms has been intercepted on the border over the past three years, the SCNS deputy chief noted.
Despite these results, drug smuggling remains one of the most acute problems, and therefore, Tajikistan seeks support of international community, Umarov added.
A two-day conference that took place on March 4-5 was hosted by the Embassy of Japan in Dushanbe and the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan under support of the EU-funded UNDP-implemented BOMCA and BOMNAF Programs.
The conference has been designed within the framework of agreements reached at the EU-Japan summits, which took place respectively in Tokyo on the April 28, 2010 and in Brussels on May 28, 2011, where Japan and the European Union reconfirmed their commitment to work together in partnership with the Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations and other international organizations to promote a secure, stable and prosperous future for the people of Afghanistan.
The objectives of the conference were in developing sustainable local capacity, improving border management and exploring ways of furthering the collaboration between the Governments of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The focus was upon identifying fields of training, aligning cross-border operations, strengthening counter-narcotic actions, enhancing transparency and accountability, improving cross-border services and trade facilitation.
The event involved high ranking representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Border Police and Customs Service of Afghanistan, the Tajik Border Force, Drug Control Agency and Customs Service of Tajikistan, together with representatives from the Japanese Government, the European Union, accredited diplomatic missions to Tajikistan, and international organizations dealing with border management issues.
The European Union, composed of 28 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. Tajikistan got the main share of bilateral assistance in the Central Asian region (€66 million for 2007-2010 and €62 million for 2011-2013) in support of sector programs, technical assistance and grants. The assistance focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The EU is active in Tajikistan since 1992 and provides approximately €25 million annually in development assistance.
