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OSCE gives support to Moldova in establishing an Advance Passenger Information (API) system

5 June 2019
Participants during a two-day consultation meeting on how to set up an Advance Passenger Information (API) system to detect and thwart the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and improve national security, Chisinau, 5 June 2019. (Moldovan Border Police/Ion Strungaru)

A two-day consultation meeting between the OSCE and Moldovan authorities on how to set up an Advance Passenger Information (API) system to detect and thwart the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and improve national security in general was organized on 4 and 5 June 2019.

Approximately thirty representatives from relevant agencies with responsibility for processing passengers, including members of the General Inspectorate of the Border Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Inspectorate of Police, Customs Service, Security and Intelligence Service, the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Centre for Personal Data Protection, the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, and the National Central Bureau participated in the consultation.

Organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, with the support of the General Inspectorate of the Border Police, the consultation aimed at providing legal and technical support for implementing the recommendations of a roadmap for setting up an API system that was drafted during a national workshop in Chisinau from 10 to 12 July 2018.

Opening the consultation, the Deputy Head of General Inspectorate of the Border Police, Valentin Fiodorov, emphasized the importance of OSCE support and consultation meetings where all relevant stakeholders are included in the process of establishing an API system from the very beginning. He also noted the need for all agencies to identify optimum solutions in order to smoothly introduce an API system in Moldova.

Participants discussed different topics related to an API system, from its benefits and added value to the national security and data protection issues that need to be taken into account, the legal framework needed for establishing an API system and possible IT solutions necessary for data transfers. Participants also reviewed the roadmap based on the conclusions of the discussions and agreed on the next steps for implementing an API system.

API systems are electronic communications systems through which biographic data from a traveller’s passport and flight details are collected by airlines and transmitted to border control agencies before a flight’s departure or arrival.

This event is a continuation of OSCE efforts in supporting its participating States in establishing API systems with the aim of enhancing border security. The next API activity will take place in Yerevan from 17 to 19 June 2019.