UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific jointly with UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia Facilitated the Study Visit of Vietnamese Delegation to Uzbekistan

28 October - 1 November 2019 Tashkent, Uzbekistan - The UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia facilitated the visit of Vietnamese delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan to share experience, best practices and exchange views on Border Liaison Offices (BLOs) network/operation in Central Asia and ASEAN region as an effective mechanism to address drug trafficking and other types of cross border crime.

The visit was hosted by the National Information and Analytical Center on Drug Control under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, State Customs Committee, the Border Troops of the State Security Service, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The delegation of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, headed by Police Lieutenant General Mr. Pham Van Cac, Director General of the Counter-narcotic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security visited State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. During the meeting Mr. Gafurjon Shukurov, the Deputy Chairman mentioned that it was the first visit of the representatives of Viet Nam to the State Customs Committee and expressed hope for future cooperation.

Besides, Vietnamese delegates visited the Border Check Point (BCP) "Oybek", where they got familiarized with the experience of the BLO operation in Uzbekistan, including legislation and efforts done by the Government in addressing drug/precursors trafficking and other types of transnational organized crime. Discussion was focused on interagency cooperation related to border security, including data collection and information sharing among law enforcement agencies at national and regional levels.  

Police General Lieutenant, Mr. Phan Van Cac highlighted the excellent work being carried out by the Oybek BLO emphasizing its role in cross border cooperation on TOC, including joint investigation/operation along the borders.

Both sides agreed that this visit was a good example of inter-regional cooperation between Central Asia and South East Asia where BLO network helps to counter trafficking and organized crime.

The study tour had resulted in further determining the right direction for the establishment of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Vietnam within UNODC Border Management Programme, namely with regard to organization of reciprocal visit of representatives of law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Viet Nam in 2020 to see one of existing BLOs in Viet Nam.

For more information:

UNODC ROCA on Twitter

UNODC in Central Asia on Facebook