Afghan border police officers, at OSCE course in Turkmenistan, discuss border security

ASHGABAT, 30 September 2016 - Thirteen middle-rank border police officers from the northern border of Afghanistan today completed a five-day OSCE-supported executive general patrol course organized in the capital of Turkmenistan by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the EU-funded UNDP Border Management Northern Afghanistan (BOMNAF) project.

The course introduced participants to the types and forms of topographical maps with the aim of improving their professional capabilities in collecting and analysing information and enhancing their reconnaissance, observation and communication skills. Participants also discussed the importance of gender awareness and recent trends in gender equality and human rights monitoring.

“As a regional organization with its comprehensive approach to security, the OSCE has the necessary expertise to assist Afghanistan in strengthening its border security,” said Natalya Drozd, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “We organized this training course to support international efforts in fostering bilateral relations between the governments of these two countries, which share a long border and are willing to contribute to strengthening the capacities of the border troops.”

The course is a key component of an OSCE extra-budgetary project on strengthening border guard capacities in Turkmenistan, which was launched in 2014 and is being implemented with the financial support of the governments of Germany, Luxembourg and the United States of America.