OSCE trains Afghan customs officers in Kyrgyzstan

An opening ceremony of a training-of-trainers course for six customs officers from Afghanistan took place on 10 February 2014 at the premises of the Kyrgyz Customs Training centre in Leninskoe village near Bishkek.

The two-week course course will focus on coaching techniques and a methodology to develop comprehensive study plans. Afghan customs officers will also attend management sessions and exchange experiences with their Kyrgyz colleagues.

The course is organised by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in close co-operation with the Kyrgyz Customs Training Centre and the Afghan Customs department.

The Training Centre, where the course is taking place, was established in November 2013 with the support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, under its project aimed at building the capacity of Kyrgyz and Afghan customs officers.

In 2014, some 150 Afghan and 210 Kyrgyz customs officers will be trained at the centre on topics related to the identification and detection of narcotics, risk analysis, examination of cargo containers and trailers, analysis of cargo documents, the use of scanners and analysing images, as well as legal codification and customs intelligence techniques.