DUSHANBE, October 7, 2010, Asia-Plus — An international two-conference on border management and trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan has opened in Dushanbe today.
The European Union (EU) Delegation to Tajikistan and the Embassy of Japan in Dushanbe, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as the EU financed programs BOMCA (Border Management in Central Asia) and BOMAF (Border Management in Afghanistan), hosted this conference.
The conference has brought together Representatives from relevant ministries, customs and border guard services of both countries, private sector and business communities of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as well as international community to discuss ways to enhance trade and economic cooperation and transit shipments between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
The overall objective of the conference was to develop local capacity, enhance coordination and cooperation, and strengthen links between Tajik and Afghan authorities in Border Management, Trade Facilitation and Customs Services through the initiation of exchange of experiences and best practices.
Inaugurating the conference, Ambassador Eduard Auer, Head of the EU Delegation to Tajikistan, noted that the conference was designed in frame of the initiatives identified at the 19th Japan-EU summit that took place in Tokyo on April 28, 2010, where Japan and the European Union reconfirmed their commitment to work together in partnership with the Afghan government, the United Nations and other international partners to promote a secure, stable and prosperous future for the people of Afghanistan.
Today, representatives of relevant ministries and trade community are discussing issues related to trade and transit corridors development in the region, impediments and irregularities that entrepreneurs of the both countries face at the border. Officers of customs services of both countries are presenting their progress and strategies on custom modernization and implementation of internationally recognized trade facilitation measures.
According to EU Delegation, the second days of the conference is dedicated to technical subjects of trade facilitation at borders and optimization of workflow at border crossing points. Customs experts from Japan will acquaint the audience with practices of balancing trade facilitation and security in the work of modern customs, based on such tools as risk management, pre-arrival examination, audit-based control, partnership with trade etc. Cooperation and interaction between control agencies, implementation of one stop, single office and single window at land border crossing points and other EU practices aimed on optimization of workflow at land border crossing points will be presented as well.
According to data from the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan in January-August 2010 has valued at US$60.004 million, which is 21.6 percent more than in the same period last year. This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Afghanistan estimated at little more than US$30.8 million and Tajikistan’s imports from Afghanistan worth more than US$29.1 million.
