DUSHANBE, August 14, 2009, Asia-Plus – Today, the EU-UNDP Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA) and Central Asia Drug Action Program (CADAP) handed over specialized equipment to the Customs Service of Tajikistan, according to the delegation of the European Commission in Tajikistan.
The handover ceremony was attended by the Attaché of the EC Delegation in Tajikistan Mr. Jean-Bernard De Milito, UNDP Country Director in Tajikistan Mr. Rastislav Vrbensky and First Deputy Head of Customs Service Major-General Nemat Rahmatov.
The specialized equipment (ion scanner SABRE 4000, test systems DrugCon and Drug ID), endoscopes, video surveillance equipment and X-ray scanner will be used at Border Crossing Points (BCPs) and Drug Profiling Units (DPUs) for drug detection and drug identification in humans. Use of the equipment will significantly speed up operations of the BCPs and DPUs and will make drug analysis more reliable and reproducible.
The total cost of the drug detecting equipment is over € 483 thousand. The total cost of IT equipment and furniture that was also handed over to the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan by BOMCA and CADAP Programs made up over € 72 thousand.
The BOMCA Assistance Program aims to demonstrate to Central Asian Governments the benefits of the EU Integrated Border Management (IBM) approach through model projects at major Border Crossing Points in Central Asian, to help foster institutional reform in border management, to strengthen the training capacities in Central Asia and to help improve the infrastructure along trade and transit corridors in Central Asia.
The overall objective of the EU-UNDP CADAP Program is to foster a public health approach to drug demand and an interdiction approach to drug supply in line with the European Commission drug strategies.
BOMCA and CADAP Programs are financed by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
