OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports 12th Central Asia Border Security Initiative Conference
BISHKEK, 28 April 2016 – The two-day conference of the 12th Central Asia Border Security Initiative concluded today in Bishkek having brought together some 100 officials to discuss the role of border management in countering extremism, managing migration flows and facilitating of cross-border trade.
“At the conference, not only was information shared but the discussions could be considered as confidence building measures,” said Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, which organized the conference along with the European Union, Austria’s Federal Interior Ministry and the Border Management in Central Asia Programme. “Participants effectively addressed many issues of border security in the region, but many questions are yet to be answered,” said Kapinos.
Colonel Bakyt Zhyltyrov, Chief of Staff at the Kyrgyz State Border Service, said: “Kyrgyzstan's border agency, carrying out its functions in a dynamically changing environment, makes maximum effort to ensure the security of the state border, preserving stability in the region.”
The OSCE Centre in Bishkek has made border-related project activities one of its priorities in Kyrgyzstan. Since 2011, the Centre has been supporting the Kyrgyz authorities in setting up early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms in the Fergana Valley border areas. It included establishing community outreach mechanisms to improve information sharing between border guards, police and local residents. These efforts contributed to the decrease in the number of border incidents in Kyrgyzstan by 22 per cent.
“In 2016 the OSCE Centre is further advancing its border-related partnership with Kyrgyzstan. We are focusing on assisting Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan border guard services to build co-operation mechanisms and synergies through new and joint approaches to border security,” said Kapinos. “Our partnership with the Kyrgyz government will also result in the development of a national risk analysis model at tactical, operational, and strategic levels, by adjusting and applying best international practices.”
Gests and officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland in the sphere of border security, migration and trade facilitation participated in the meeting.
The conference is part of a project by the Politico-Military Dimension department of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek on enhancing the Kyrgyz Government’s engagement in regional co-operation in border security and management.