On December 9-10, 2021б the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) held a regional kick-off meeting on cross-border cooperation: best practices and outlook for Central Asia. The meeting aimed at raising awareness of the state beneficiaries on the cross-border cooperation schemes and benefits of such cooperation in particular areas.
On December 7, 2021, the 10th phase of the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) was officially launched at the project Opening Conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. During the event, the goals and objectives of the Programme and plans for its implementation in all five countries of the region were presented to the participants. "BOMCA very well represents the spirit of the EU-Central Asia cooperation, which aims to facilitate regional integration. The European Union considers that regional cooperation and integration offer the best tools for addressing common challenges, and are instrumental in ensuring security and stability", - noted Ms. Terhi Hakala, EU Special Representative for Central Asia, in her welcoming speech.
On December 6, 2021, the 1st meeting of the Regional Steering Group of the 10th phase of the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) was held, attended by representatives of the project beneficiaries from the Central Asian countries, component leaders and partners from the EU member states. The meeting aimed at informing about milestones of Programme’s planning, implementation, and monitoring. It further served a platform for providing updates on project implementation, main findings of the assessment missions, presentation of the inception report and endorsement of work plan for the 1st year of implementation (2021 - 2022). The Steering Group has an important and crucial role at national and regional levels, as its members oversee and provide strategic guidance to the overall project implementation.
From November 30 till December 3 2021, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) held a Training-of-Trainers (ToT) course on identification and profiling techniques. The course was aimed at training of national experts from the Border Guards, Ministries of Interior, Transport Police, and National Security Committees on identification and profiling techniques. Subsequently, these trainers will continue to transfer this knowledge within their respective national agencies.
On November 30 – December 2, 2021, in Tashkent, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) held a National workshop for the Heads of K-9 Centers, experts responsible for the organisation of work of K-9 service and respective units, including training processes and methodological support. The workshop aimed at improving skills of employees and specialized organizations in detecting various types of smuggled goods, as well as to learn about the EU best practices in training and organizing the work of canine teams with a focus on the detection of weapons, explosives, ammunition, drugs, precursors and currency
The Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) provided technical assistance to an analysis of the country’s customs legislation in transit areas during a meeting held from November 24-26, 2021. The meeting gathered experts from EU member states and Kazakh authorities on the development of a national transit declaration/control system. This event was designed to help the Kazakh customs administration to review its existing national transit systems, apply the Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) Convention, and identify gaps in legislation. It will also analyze relevant administrative instructions on transit regimes and develop recommendations for further improvement.
On November 4, 2021, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Trade H. E. Valdis Dombrovskis met with the Regional Manager of the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) Maris Domins during his official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, and visited the Customs Training Center of the State Customs Service for the Kyrgyz Republic.
On November 3, 2021 BOMCA Programme held an Information Meeting for representatives of Central Asian NGOs. Acknowledging an important role played today by NGOs in the area of migration, active participation of non-governmental actors shall positively contribute to the implementation of the overall objective of BOMCA 10 and in particular its Component 4 on Improvement of Cross-Border Cooperation.
Between July 22 – 26, 2021, Border Management Programme in Central Asia and Afghanistan - phase 10 (BOMCA- 10), held inception meetings with the international stakeholders, active in the areas of border management, trade facilitation and migration management. The objective of the meetings was to present the new project phase of the Programme and discuss the partnership opportunities to allow better coordination of donor assistance in the border-related domains at national and regional levels. The international organisations briefly introduced their cross-cutting programmes and projects in Central Asia and Afghanistan for the period of 2021 – 2025. Next to the meetings with the national counterparts, held in the region in June-July, these meetings are a crucial element of the inception activities of the newly launched phase. Findings of the meetings will be incorporated into the BOMCA planning for 2021-2022 and will pave the way for successful synergies of the thematic activities with efforts of other key stakeholder in the region.
