As part of the EU-UNDP-UK €5,011,000, ($7,745,000) BOMBAF Project, Charlotte Adriaen, Chargé d’Affaires to the Delegation of the European Commission to Tajikistan, on 05 June 2008 handed over three new Border Crossing Points on the Tajik-Afghan border to the Afghan Border Police as the culmination of one phase in the UNDP’s Border Management Badakhshan Afghanistan (BOMBAF) project.

During an official ceremony at Shegnan, Mrs Adriaen handed over three border crossing points (BCPs) at Iskashim, Shegnan and Nusay, each of which will provide fully equipped joint working facilities for Afghan Border Police and Customs officers. Nearby, additional facilities are being provided where existing buildings are being converted to provide accommodation for Border Police and Customs staff.

As the representative of a primary donor, the deputy Ambassador to the British Embassy represented the UK at the event. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Mr William Lawrence, Project Manager, who represented UNDP as the implementing partner and a donor of the BOMBAF project. Senior officials from the Afghan Border Police and Customs Service, as well as officers from the Tajik Border Force and Customs service, together with representatives of UNDP, the Ambassadors of USA, France and Afghanistan to Tajikistan, and representatives from other embassies and agencies also participated.

The focus and priority of BOMBAF on the Badakhshan border in Afghanistan has been concentrated on providing assistance to law enforcement agencies responsible for security and counter narcotics trafficking. This project has been implemented in close cooperation with the European Union, EU Member States (notably the United Kingdom which is co funding the projects being visited today) and the United States of America, as well as with partner international organisations.

The assistance to Afghanistan includes provision of equipment to increase the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies, building infrastructure at international border crossing points in Badakhshan, and conducting broadly based training programmes. The project has been approved as a component of a larger European Commission border management programme with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Integrated Border Management Support Programme in North-eastern Afghanistan signed on October 2006. It complements several other programmes in Afghanistan, in Tajikistan and In Central Asia:

EU-led Integrated Border Management encompasses not only security, but is intended to enable legitimate cross-border trade and transit, leading to improvements in the economic situation of border communities. To this end, improvements to the existing international crossing points at Shegnan, Eskashem and Nusai have been part of the EU’s assistance plans.

Border management is most effective if similar strategies and capacities are developed on both sides of international borders. Thus, this current round of EU assistance is a mirror of what has already been provided on the Tajikistan side of the border, on the opposite side of the river bank, at each of the three Aga Khan bridges that span the Amu Darya River along this border.

Cross border cooperation and consultation between law enforcement officials is a vital component in the fight against illegal trafficking of narcotics. These contacts are being fostered through EU assistance and law enforcement agencies in Tajikistan and Afghanistan plan in future to meet regularly to discuss matters of mutual interest and to quickly resolve challenges which may arise. The overall objectives of the Border Management in Badakhshan Afghanistan project are to enhance security on the Badakhshan border; to reduce the flow of illicit traffic through the region; and to help facilitate the flow of persons and legal goods across the three recognised crossing points. A further specific objective of BOMBAF is to strengthen Afghanistan’s capacity to manage its own borders in accordance with European good practice.

The BOMBAF Project is implemented by UNDP. Donors to the project are: European Union: €3.811 Million
United Kingdom: €777 Thousand
UNDP: €423 Thousand
TOTAL €5,011,000