From December 5 to 7, 2022, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) held a bilateral workshop for representatives of investigation units of the law enforcement agencies and prosecutor's offices from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This activity aimed to analyse the current practices of information and evidence exchange in cross-border crime investigations in Central Asian countries with a major focus on Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and evaluate problematic aspects of information and evidence exchange in the investigation of cross-border crimes.

During the workshop participants and Lithuanian experts discussed the possibility of a faster exchange of information and evidence in cross-border crime investigation, as well as evaluating the legal and practical prerequisites for evidence using digital (electronic) data transmission methods.

Following the completion of the workshop and building upon the information received from the national counterparts, the expert team will prepare a protocol on cooperation related to the exchange of regional information about cross-border crimes and on the exchange of evidence between law enforcement (prosecution) agencies of both countries.

This workshop was organised in the framework of BOMCA Component 2, “Improvement of Detection Capacities”, which aims to support law enforcement agencies in evidence-based investigations, specifically dealing with detection and investigation of cross-border crime.

Similar workshops have been organised for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.