DUSHANBE, November 9, Asia-Plus – Today morning, Mr. Adriaan van der Meer, the European Commission (EC) Head of Delegation to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was scheduled to leave Dushanbe for Khorog to review projects of the European Union’s BOMCA/CADAP Program (Border Management and Drug Action Program in Central Asia) in Gorno Badakhshan, but he could not because of bad weather.
During his staying in Gorno Badakhshan van der Meer was expected to familiarize himself with a progress of renovation of the border crossing point on the Tajik-Afghan border in the Ishkashim district and officially handover the dog kennel, built in Khorog with financial support of the European Union, to Tajik border troops.
In Tajikistan, three border crossing points have been identified for reinforcement under the European Union’s BOMCA/CADAP, all in Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous: Darvoz, Khorog and Ishkashim. At each location, existing buildings are being be renovated for continued use as accommodation for border guards and customs officers. New building facilities will be provided for border control, comprising containerized buildings designed to operationalize inter-Agency working. Technical proposals have been agreed with contractors, and infrastructure is in process of construction. Equipment has already been procured and delivered to local detachments of the border guard service.
In the meantime, the EC Head of Delegation will inaugurate a Week of Europe in Tajikistan tomorrow morning. Adriaan van der Meer, in particular, will attend opening of the renovated Center for European Documentation at Russian-Tajik Slavic University in Dushanbe and after that he will open a week of European movies at the Cultural Center Bactria.
We will recall that yesterday, Adriaan van der Meer and Tajik Finance Minister Safarali Najmuddinov signed in Dushanbe a finance agreement, under which the European Commission provides 9 million euros to Tajikistan for implementing the food security program.
The visit of the EC Head of Delegation to Tajikistan will last until November 12.
