OSCE trains Afghan customs officials in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 21 August 2009 - Eight Afghan customs officials took part in an OSCE-organized training course that concluded in the town of Atamurat near the Turkmen-Afghan border today.

The training course marks the successful completion of a three-month extra budgetary project developed by the OSCE Borders Team in response to a 2007 Madrid Ministerial Council decision on enhancing OSCE engagement with Afghanistan.

Organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, in co-operation with the Turkmenistan Foreign Ministry and the Embassy of Afghanistan in Turkmenistan, the five-day training course was held by two Turkmenistan customs officials trained within the first part of the project and mentored by international experts.

The training course focused on basic skills such as risk assessment, profiling, targeting, selection and search techniques, and included practical exercises and discussions.

"Following the Madrid Ministerial Council Decision on engagement with Afghanistan, Turkmenistan was first among all Central Asian countries to host a training course for Afghan participants. This course gave an excellent opportunity for customs officials from two neighbouring countries to exchange their valuable experience and contributed to the strengthening of cross-border co-operation between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, which is crucial for border security in the region." said Ambassador Arsim Zekolli, the Head of the OSCE Centre.

A total of 29 officials from the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and eight customs officials from Afghanistan were trained within the project, which was financed by Norway.