Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 16
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Regional training on “Good Practices in Border Security and Management to Strengthen National and Regional Capacities in Countering Terrorism” started in Ashgabat, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia said.
It is attended by officials and counterterrorism practitioners from Central Asian states and Afghanistan, as well as by international experts.
The training, which aims at strengthening national and regional border security in the context of counterterrorism and prevention of free movement of foreign terrorist fighters, is being organized by the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), in cooperation with the UN Office for Countering Terrorism (UNOCT).
“This event is a timely opportunity to join forces and enhance cross-border exchanges and harmonization of policy around border security for effective counterterrorism,” said SRSG Natalia Gherman in her remarks.
She also praised the significant efforts made by Central Asian states in countering terrorism and assured that UNRCCA, with its regional and preventive mandate, would continue encouraging such cooperation as part of the implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Joint Plan of Action for Central Asia.
Central Asian States strive to secure their borders through a variety of measures, including surveillance, physical barriers, joint control operations and patrols, information exchange, intelligence assessment and engagement with border communities on control and policing issues.
Nevertheless, challenges – both existing and new - are numerous, prompting the need to review modalities for cooperation.
This training is part of a series of regional workshops to be organized within the Third Phase of the regional project titled “Towards the Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action for the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia”, which was launched at high level in Ashgabat earlier this year.