Strengthening the Exchange of Information Between Central Asian Countries

The annual Steering Committees meeting of the "Countering the trafficking of Afghan opiates via the northern route by enhancing the capacity of key border crossings points (BCPs) and the establishment of Border Liaison Offices (BLOs) in Central Asia" project   was held in CARICC (Almaty) on 10-11 November 2015.  The meeting was attended by the members of the Project Steering Committees of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, representatives of the donor countries, international and regional partners and subject matter experts from the countries of the region.

Mr. Beishenbai Zhunusov, CARICC Director, noted in his welcoming speech that "the intensification of intelligence and information exchange between law enforcement bodies of the neighboring countries in Central Asia is crucial for combatting drug trafficking from Afghanistan".

In her remarks, Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, noted that "the project has created favorable conditions through infrastructure development, provision of equipment and training of BLO staff for effective cross-border communication and information exchange. The project will focus on BLOs networking which will foster interagency and cross-border cooperation in the region".

Participants discussed the progress in the implementation of the BLO project and exchanged information on seizures made by the BLO officers during conducted operations.