Since it began in 2008, this project has provided technical support to the National Centre for Drug Control (NCDC). The Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan has provided materials to the Interagency Library in order to ensure better access to all kinds of drug-related information, and it has also organized training courses to improve the knowledge and professional skills of NCDC staff, including its regional representatives.
The Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan also supports the publication of the annual Regional Bulletin on the Drug Situation in Central Asia. In addition, the Project Co-ordinator facilitated the development of the NCDC’s website.
In 2013, the OSCE plans to continue this project, focusing more on preventative aspects of drugs abuse.
The Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan provides support for the government’s efforts aimed at introducing international standards on travel-document security. For example, a workshop on identification documents was organized for local specialists, and a technical workshop on the introduction of a biometric-passport system was delivered by experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As part of this project, delegations of experts visited several countries in order to learn different practices regarding biometric passports.
In the future, this project envisages inviting competent international experts to assist their colleagues from Uzbekistan in with the introduction, development, and auditing of relevant technological arrangements for a national Public Key Directory, which would allow for the reliable exchange of information within the ICAO’s Public Key Directory.
There are also plans to organize a joint OSCE-ICAO regional seminar in Tashkent in 2013 on machine-readable travel documents, biometrics, and security standards.