On 11-12 June 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan have organized in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan the Ninth Annual Inter-Regional Meeting of the Heads and Authorized Representatives of Customs Services and other competent authorities within the framework of the Passenger and Cargo Border Team (PCBT).
Fifty senior-level officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, including Heads and authorized representatives of the Customs Services and other competent authorities, Türkiye as PCBT cooperation partner, as well as UNODC and World Customs Organization (WCO) officials and programme donors reviewed the PCBT goals, frameworks, and accomplishments, discussed the regional situation and response measures by UNODC, WCO, and participating countries within a period since previous annual meeting in Baku, discussed promising and priority areas for further Programme implementation, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Inter-Regional Network of Customs Authorities and Port Control Units (IREN) in the region.
Participants reviewed common efforts on IREN implementation at the national level and elaborated upon progress, practical achievements, challenges, priorities, and needs in this area. Existing treaty frameworks in member countries, as well as overall results, successes, and lessons learnt of the mechanism to exchange the pre-arrival data on high-risk cargo piloted between the Port Control Units (PCUs) Farap in Turkmenistan and Alat in Uzbekistan have been reviewed, whereby all parties expressed their interest in introducing this practice among other relevant Units of member countries under the PCBT’s coordination and technical support.
Welcoming the meeting participants, Mr. Maksat Hudaykulyyev, Chairman of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan expressed gratitude to UNODC and the WCO for having connected the countries through a common Programme and provision of an opportunity for a systematic dialogue on countering drug trafficking, suppressing smuggling and other customs violations, as well as creation of an enabling environment for the growth of transit capacity in the region. The PCBT implementation is becoming increasingly relevant with the establishment of new international transit and transport corridors in the region. In light of the growing trend of international freight transport, Turkmenistan attaches particular importance to further effective implementation of the Programme and to enhancing regional customs cooperation within its framework, aimed at facilitating international trade, while at the same time ensuring supply chain security. As cargo movements increase, the role of customs authorities in ensuring the safety of cargo transportation increases. In this context, Mr. Hudaykulyyev reiterated the importance of PCBT and expressed confidence that the results of the meeting will serve to its further effective implementation, strengthening the partnership of Customs services and the development of regional Customs cooperation.
Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia underlined in her welcoming remarks that illegal transborder movements of commodities continue representing the most prominent challenges faced by border management authorities globally. The abuse of legitimate international trade and transport infrastructure for illicit purposes by criminal networks necessitates strong law-enforcement response and regulatory mechanisms to address it. In this regard, the good momentum in the PCBT IREN cooperation gives confidence in successful accomplishment of joint and shared commitments to level this cooperation further up towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Batyr Geldiyev, PCBT HQ Programme Officer stated that PCBT, with its broader coverage of both cargo and passenger profiling enlarged its capacity in the technical assistance delivery to Governments on integrated border management through creation of sustainable enforcement structures in selected ports to tackle drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, and other forms of illegal activities.
Mr. Philippe Merlin, Ambassador of France to Turkmenistan, Mr. Hosaka Hideki, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Turkmenistan, and Mr. James Garcia, Assistant Director, U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center, expressed as donor representatives their feedback on PCBT’s role in the area of integrated border management and encouraged participants to enjoy this platform to further strengthen the international law enforcement cooperation.
The meeting participants expressed their appreciation to UNODC for their longstanding and progressive support within PCBT, as well as to the Government of Turkmenistan and State Customs Service of Turkmenistan for excellent hosting the meeting at a highly organized level, and adopted the outcome document, based on agreements reached during the meeting.
The PCBT Segments for Central Asia and Pakistan are funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS), as well as Governments of Japan and France.
More about Global PCBT at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ccp/index.html
