Duration: 16 May – 15 June 2016
Between 27-28 April Bishkek hosted the 12th Central Asia Border Security Initiative (CABSI) Conference, gathering over a hundred international participants to discuss a modern integrated border management (IBM) approach to strengthening the security of borders while facilitating legitimate movements and trade. The conference is the result of a cooperation between the EU, the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Border Management in Central Asia Programme (BOMCA), with the support of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Participants at the event included officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, EU Member States – Austria, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and other countries playing an important role in the region, as well as key international actors in the field of migration such as ICMPD, IOM, UNHCR, and UNODC.
A two-day regional workshop on a common training system for customs officers was held in Bishkek from 5-6 April . The workshop was facilitated by European experts from Riga Technical University and the State Revenue Service of Latvia and gathered professionals from customs agencies and higher educational institutions from Central Asia. The wide audience of the workshop was made up by senior-level customs officials and human resources officers, academics and university staff from major universities in Central Asia, such as the Kazakh National University, the Kyrgyz National University, the Finance and Economic Institute of Tajikistan, the State University of Commerce of Tajikistan, and the Higher Military Customs Institute of the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan.
From 28-30 March BOMCA-invited training experts conducted a national workshop on human resources management and financial planning and control for relevant national experts from the customs, border and phytosanitary agencies of Kazakhstan. The EU expert team consisting of senior management representatives from the State Revenue Service and the State Border Service of Latvia brought their knowledge and expertise to be shared with Kazakh partners.
Between March 9 and March 18 BOMCA-invited trainer-expert Mr. Juris Madzuls, Lecturer at the State Border Guard College of Latvia, conducted national workshops on identification and profiling techniques for relevant national experts from the Border Service of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan, the Migration Police Department of the Ministry of Interior of Kazakhstan, the State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, the State Migration Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the State Security Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. 38 officers and officials from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participated in 3-day training workshops in Astana and Bishkek respectively.
On 1-3 March 2016 BOMCA Technical Mission experts visited Tashkent to provide advisory support to the Higher Military Customs Institute of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The visit was aimed at providing support in evaluating the compatibility of the existing customs officer training system with World Customs Organization (WCO) professional standards and recommendations of the European Commission Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD).
Following the experience of the previous phases of the Programme, in particular in enhancing international donor coordination and cooperation and strengthening stakeholder networking, BOMCA supported the State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic in hosting the International Donors Coordination Meeting on Border Management Issues held on 25 February 2016. The participants at the meeting were the State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as international donors and agencies involved in border management and associated areas (EU Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic, OSCE, RCC, UNODC, UNHCR, UNDP). The Kyrgyz hosting delegation was led by Col. Nurbek Sultanaliev, Head of the International Relations Department of the State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic.
On 18-19 February 2016 a Regional Workshop for consortia of border guarding and customs training institutions of Central Asian countries was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The representatives of the training institutions from four countries in Central Asia, namely the Training Center of the Customs Control Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Border Service Academy of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Professional Development Center of the State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan, the Center of Professional Development and Cynology of the Customs Service of Kyrgyzstan, the Higher Border College of Tajikistan, the Institute for Retraining of the Customs Service of Tajikistan, the Higher Military Customs Institute of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Tashkent Higher Combined Arms Command School, gathered to share their experience and ideas on the capacity building activities in the educational processes. The workshop was facilitated by EU experts from the State Border Guard of Latvia and Riga Technical University.
