OSCE Office to help renovate Armenian police training Centre

YEREVAN, 13 April 2006 - The OSCE Office in Yerevan has signed an agreement to help renovate all six buildings of the Armenian Police Training Centre for non-commissioned officers.

Visiting the Centre today, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office, said: "Non-commissioned police officers are the ones who work closest with ordinary citizens, so improving their learning environment and bringing the curriculum into line with international standards will help enhance the relationship with the community. Co-operation with the training Centre is part of the ongoing activities of the Office to assist democratic reform of the Armenian Police".

Ambassador Pryakhin visited the Centre together with Major General Ararat Mahtesyan, the First Deputy Head of the Armenian Police, and Anthony Godfrey, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia.

The renovation is part of a police assistance programme, launched by the OSCE Office in 2003. It includes the refurbishment of the police training Centre, made possible with financial contributions from the governments of Belgium, Sweden and the United States, the development of a curriculum in line with international standards and the introduction of a community-policing model in one of the police districts of Yerevan.