On Wednesday, May 2, the Chief of the State Border Guard, General Normunds Garbars, visited Dushanbe (Tajikistan), where a festive event on the occasion of 15th anniversary of the Border Management in Central Asia (BOMCA) Project took place.
The representatives of the diplomatic corps of the Member States of the European Union accredited in Tajikistan and representatives of the Delegation of EU in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Central Asian States' Ambassadors and the BOMCA 9 Project Beneficiaries-Countries' Border Guard and Customs Authorities, as well as representatives of the international projects OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), BOMNAF (Border Management in North Africa ), IOM (International Organization for Migration) and CADAP (Central Asia Drug Action Program) were invited to participate in the event.
During the visit, the Chief of the State Border Guard met with General Col. Radzhbali Rahmonal, Commander of the Border Guard Forces of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan and discussed issues related to the development of the Border Guard Forces of the of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as the participation in the BOMCA events.
The meeting was organized in accordance with a mutually agreed protocol on cooperation in border guarding matters.
The BOMCA Program was launched in 2003 with the aim to improve security, to fight against illegal migration and to facilitate trade in Central Asian countries. Since its launch in 2003, the BOMCA Programme has implemented 8 phases targeting institutional development, developing trade corridors, improving border management systems and eliminating drug trafficking across the Central Asia region.
Since June 11 2015, when the grant agreement was signed between the European Union Delegation in the Kyrgyz Republic and the International Consortium led by the State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvia, the implementation of the 9th phase of the BOMCA was launched. The State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvia is the governing body of the BOMCA 9 Implementation Consortium. The BOMCA 9 realization period is until December 14, 2019 (54 months). The project budget is EUR 6 606 379 (co-financing of the Republic of Latvia is EUR 375 885, co-financing of the Republic of Lithuania is EUR 75 000).
BOMCA 9 overall objectives are improvement of the overall border security situation in Central Asia; rendering support to facilitate the trade between the five Central Asian countries and their transit procedures; improvement of the efficient management of migration flows and strengthening of cooperation within the framework of integrated border management.
Information prepared by Kristine Petersone