DUSHANBE (TCA) — The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and representatives from 16 government agencies participated in the official opening of the Inter-Agency Secretariat for Border Management and Security of Tajikistan on 12 September.
The Inter-Agency Secretariat is a coordination body comprising 16 agencies operating in the framework of Tajikistan’s National Border Management Strategy. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe provides supports for the Secretariat’s temporary premises and communication infrastructure.
The first plenary meeting of the Secretariat was chaired by Mansurjon Umarov, the First Deputy of the State Security Committee with the participation of the General Commander of the Border Troops, Lieutenant General Rajabali Rahmonali, and 12 deputy ministers from the Customs Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Drug Control Agency, the Anti-corruption Agency, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance.
Umarov said that Tajikistan is “facing constant transnational threats such as terrorism and volatile security, particularly in the southern border with Afghanistan.”
The Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, said: “Upon the request of the Tajik authorities, the Programme Office is supporting the Inter-Agency Secretariat so that it can co-ordinate the work of all border-related agencies to enable a swift multi-agency response to transnational threats. The Programme Office stands ready to further support the Secretariat with more capacity building for its staff.”
At the event, Yrjölä handed over to the Tajik authorities the evaluation of the short-term implementation (2010-2015) of the National Border Management Strategy of Tajikistan, which the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe conducted in 2016 in co-operation with the Japanese-funded UNDP-Border Management Project and the International Organization for Migration.
The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe also donated 15 computers and laptops to the Inter-Agency Secretariat.
