News and press releases

Bishkek, 18-20 October- The Service on Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, in collaboration with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, hosted an Annual K9 competition commemorating National Police Day. The competition will feature K9 units from four government entities, including the State Service for Execution of Punishments under the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Service on Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, the State Customs Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Toguz-Bulak village, 12 October 2023- The Border Service of the State Committee on National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek announced the grand opening of the Young Border Guard classroom in Toguz-Bulak village, Kyrgyzstan. This milestone event underscores the joint commitment to address critical border security needs and transnational threats.

From 25 to 29 September, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the Mobile Training Team and the OSCE Presence in Albania, conducted an intensive training programme in Tirana, Albania, focusing on behavioural analysis, interviewing techniques, and crisis management. It benefited twenty border and counter-terrorism officers, as well as representatives from the Security and Investigation Academy of the Albanian State Police.

From 18 to 29 September, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (the Office) conducted a two-week-long training on information analysis and the use of IT technologies in border security. Twenty officers of the analytical units of Tajik Border Troops took part in the training, which was held at the “Poytakht” training centre in Rudaki district.

On 15 September 2023, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (the Office) in co-operation with Tajikistan’s Border Troops concluded a one-month training course “Sustaining Field Operational Capacities” (SFOC). The course was conducted by a national expert and supported by assistant instructors from the Tajik Border Troops, leveraging local expertise while fostering sustainable internal training capacities.

As part of its ongoing multi-year programme to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department implemented the third in a series of regional interactive workshops on combatting illicit trafficking of art, antiquities and cultural property in Pula, Croatia from 11 to 15 September. The training course was held for law enforcement, border management officers, and museum experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.

On 25 August 2023, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (the Office) organized the webinar titled “Countering Corruption in the Context of Border Security Management”. The event brought together 15 (eight women, seven men) participants from the border and customs agencies of 11 OSCE participating States (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland and Tajikistan).