From 11 to 13 October, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia BOMCA 10 organised a technical assistance mission on inter-agency cooperation between Customs and Phytosanitary, and Veterinary Services involved in border control at border check points. The assistance is targeted at the representatives of the Customs Service and Food Security Committee respectively under the Government of Tajikistan (responsible for veterinary and phytosanitary control at the state border).

The expert team, represented by the Customs Board of the State Revenue Service of Latvia and the Director of Border Control at the Department of Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia, reviewed the existing legislation which regulates cooperation among Customs Administration and SPS Institutions.

As a result of this technical assistance, recommendations will be developed by the expert team for the improvement of cooperation and communication tools among these institutions. Successful implementation of these recommendations increases cooperation among the relevant agencies and thus facilitates international trade.

The mission is organised in the framework of the Programme’s Component 3 “Facilitation of Trade” and is aimed at supporting the regional economic integration process. The importance of this component is underlined by the necessity of strengthening the facilitation of the legitimate trade flows.

A similar workshop was implemented for Uzbekistan.