Tashkent, May 11, 2023 - the official opening of the border liaison office (BLO) at the border checkpoint (BCP) "Alat" (Uzbekistan) on the Uzbek-Turkmen border took place.
The BLO was established by the Regional Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Central Asia in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the Government of Japan.
During the opening ceremony of the BLO, the representatives of the participating parties signed handover reports on the equipment donated to the BCP Alat. The total amount of equipment donated to the Alat checkpoint was US$130,000.
“Under the current conditions, border liaison offices have proven themselves as a tool for developing and strengthening interagency and cross-border cooperation, as well as exchanging information to effectively detect and suppress smuggling across the border,” said Lt. Col. Bakhodir Kutlimuratov, Head of the Department of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Bukhara region in his welcome speech.
“The importance of enhancing efforts to respond to transnational organized crime, border control and cross-border cooperation, as well as counter-narcotics capacity building was also reaffirmed at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue last December. I am confident that the Project significantly contributed to enhancing the capacity of border crossing points, regional cross-border cooperation, and closer communication among law enforcement agencies. I am delighted to observe that we have made steady progress on effectively countering the illicit drug trafficking,”- said H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Uzbekistan Mr. Takashi Hatori in his speech.
“As part of the Project to enhance cross-border cooperation by strengthening the capacity of border liaison offices, border checkpoints are being equipped with modern technical equipment, including X-Ray and inspection complexes. Along with this, the human resource capacity of law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan is being increased, which contributes to the improvement of border and customs control,” said Olim Narzullaev, Director of the National Information and Analytical Center on Drug Control of the Republic of Uzbekistan, “I am sure that the effective implementation of this project will contribute to the promotion of cooperation in security issues reflected in the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development for the period up to 2030, of which the Republic of Uzbekistan is a full-fledged participant”.
Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, congratulated national partners on the opening of the first BLO on the Uzbek-Turkmen border and expressed the hope that this initiative will serve to further development of effective cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and ultimately lead to improved border security.
“The establishment of such offices provides basis for the creation of an appropriate mechanism, through which the border agencies of neighboring countries will be able to exchange strategic information related to drug trafficking, both at the bilateral and cross-border levels. UNODC will continue to strengthen the capacity of BLOs in Central Asia under the UNODC Programme for Central Asia 2022-2025 in order to enhance cross-border cooperation, including on the Uzbek-Turkmen border,” said Yusuf Kurbonov, UNODC International Programme Coordinator in Central Asia.
The establishment of BLOs at a number of border checkpoints in Central Asia contributes to the formation of a basis for further effective interagency and cross-border cooperation, as well as the exchange of information to effectively counter transnational organized crime. At the same time BLOs promote the growth of legitimate international trade. To date, 22 BLOs have been established on the Tajik-Afghan, Uzbek-Afghan, Tajik-Uzbek, Kyrgyz-Tajik, Kyrgyz-Uzbek, Kyrgyz-Kazakh and Kazakh-Uzbek borders.
The establishment of Alat BLO is funded through the contribution from people of Japan, under UONDC Initiative for Enhancing Regional Cross-Border Cooperation by Strengthening the Capacity of Border Liaison Offices in Central Asia.
