Tajikistan Chaired the OSCE FSC Plenary Meeting on Politico-Military Aspects of Border Security and Management in Central Asia

On 22 May 2019 in Hofburg, Vienna Tajikistan has chaired the 916th plenary session of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation dedicated to the discussions of the politico-military aspects of border security and management in Central Asia.

Presenting the concept of the regular plenary meeting, the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the OSCE, Chairperson of the FSC Idibek Kalandar has noted the importance of maintaining appropriate border security as a key factor for efficient prevention of multiple threats and challenges, such as terrorism, transboundary organized crimes, trafficking of drugs, weapons, conventional ammunition, etc. faced by the majority of the OSCE participating States today.

The Permanent Representative of Tajikistan has drawn the attention of the OSCE delegations to the Dushanbe Declaration, an outcome document of the High-Level Conference “International and Regional Cooperation on Countering Terrorism and Its Financing Through Illicit Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime” (Dushanbe, 16-17 May 2019 г.) that, inter alia, "calls upon the Member States to strengthen border management to effectively prevent the movement of terrorists and terrorist groups, including those benefiting from transnational organized crime".

As keynote speakers to the plenary meeting were invited Mr. Jonathan Holland, Director, OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) in Dushanbe and Ms. Veronika Goncharova, the Project Manager of the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) who delivered presentations on implemented, as well as ongoing border related projects and programs in the region.

During the plenary meeting the delegations of the EU, Russia, the USA and Japan to the OSCE welcomed the inclusion of the issue of border security in Central Asia in the Tajik FSC Chairmanship program, and reaffirmed their readiness to support the upcoming projects in the region.

The FSC has adopted its first decision under the Tajik Chairmanship titled “On the Reminding Mechanism for the OSCE Communications Network”.