News

On October 2-4, 2018 BOMCA organized a study visit in Latvia and Estonia for management representatives of Border Service Academy of Kazakh State Security Committee who were given an opportunity to learn from the European experience and observe on the spot the functioning of partner Latvian and Estonian educational institutions. The aim of this BOMCA activity is to encourage and support educational and training capacity cooperation in the field of border management in Central Asia.

On 25 – 27 September, 2018 BOMCA expert team conducted a three-day workshop in Tashkent to improve the practical skills of customs and border authorities in the prevention and detection of illegal trafficking of goods and means of transport.

To assist the Government in combating the phenomenon of corruption amongst State bodies, BOMCA experts conducted a training of trainers on of anti-corruption measures for the representatives of the State Border Service, State Customs Service and the State Inspection of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Security. The activity took place from 11 to 13 September in Issyk-Kul. BOMCA experts together with their national counterparts shared their experiences in relation to the fight against corruption, effective provision and standardization of public services. During the three-day work, the experts reviewed the organizational structure, duties and procedures amongst the relevant agencies in Kyrgyzstan, carried out an assessment of conformity of organizational tasks, competences, rights and obligations of employees.  Real and potential risks of corruption were reviewed; resilience of institutions to corruption was assessed and specific cases of corruption were analysed. During practical exercise, participants defined the most risky zones and also factors and circumstances contributing to corruption.

On September 12, 2018 results of the expert assessment of migration related national legislation were presented to Government agencies – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Border Service, State Migration service, State Registration Service.

70 sets of video surveillance systems special stations with a total cost of 48,000 euros have been purchased and transferred to the Border Troops of Tajikistan.

On July 24^th-25^th, in Borovoe, Kazakhstan, the 3^rd Conference for Regional Cooperation was hosted on the topic of Border Security in Central Asia (Issyk-Kul Initiative), which gathered over fifty participants to discuss modern challenges in border security and ways to address them. Participants at the event included heads and senior officials from border agencies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran, as well as international bodies and programmes working in the field of border security such as BOMNAF, FRONTEX and CIS Border Troops Commanders Council.

On June 26^th- 30^th in Ashgabat, BOMCA expert team met with national partners from Turkmen customs to jointly review existing procedures on customs control of strategic goods, dual use goods, endangered species of fauna and flora (CITES Convention), protection of intellectual property rights and develop new working tools for combat illegal trade, fraud and etc. This BOMCA activity aimed to provide technical assistance in the development and improvement of the risk management systems in the Central Asian countries.

The 9^th phase of the programme will be extended until December 14^th, 2019. The decision was taken by the European Commission and supported by all five Central Asian States. The European Union allocated an additional amount of 1,6 million EUR for the extension period, and therefore all five Central Asian countries have signed addendums to their financing agreements with the EU.