OSCE, Austrian Finance Ministry train Afghan and Tajik customs officers

Sign board depicting start of the customs control zone at the Uzbek-Tajik Border. (OSCE BMSC/Saadi Vorisov)

DUSHANBE, 27 March 2013 – Twelve Afghan and five Tajik senior customs officers completed a one-week training course organized by the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) in Dushanbe in partnership with the Austrian Ministry of Finance today.

The participants learned about European Union and Austrian best practices with regards to the trade and transport facilitation, the working methods of intra-service and inter-agency co-operation, risk analysis and  customs intelligence. The training facilitated an important dialogue on a common framework for customs procedures as well as country-specific experiences and assessments in this field.

Sanaullah Ibrahimy, the Director of Operations at the Afghan Customs Department and one of the trainees said, “We learned new things such as integrated border management system of the European Union, and had a study trip to the border between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan where we observed how borders are managed in these countries.”

As part of the training programme, participants visited border checkpoints between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and observed real-time operations and practices of the Tajik customs service.

The OSCE BMSC in co-operation with Austrian Finance Ministry has offered this course  several times each academic year and plans to continue to provide and enhance this course.