EU Includes Afghanistan In Central Asia Management Border Program - Mission To Uzbekistan

Muhammad Irfan Published July 09, 2021 | 11:00 PM

The EU-sponsored Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA) included Afghanistan, currently experiencing a sharp escalation in violence, in its new phase to foster regional peace, the delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan stated Friday

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2021) The EU-sponsored Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA) included Afghanistan, currently experiencing a sharp escalation in violence, in its new phase to foster regional peace, the delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan stated Friday.

The tenth phase of the program is to last 54 months with a budget of 21.65 million euro ($25.58 million). BOMCA is an EU program which is undertaken by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and border management institutions of European countries, under the supervision of the State Border Guard of Latvia.

"European Union has been supporting long-term and successful regional project as BOMCA to help the Central Asian states to improve border security and tackle drug trafficking, including easing border crossing both for people and for goods within the Central Asia and from Central Asia to the rest of the world.

We are delighted by the fact that the new phase of BOMCA includes Afghanistan, which is a very important step towards building a strategic partnership with the countries of Central Asia to foster cooperation, as well as to ensure a peace, stability and prosperity in the region," Ambassador of the EU in Uzbekistan Charlotte Adriaen said, as cited by the mission.

The program was launched in 2003; it covers five Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and now Afghanistan. The main goal is to improve border management, detection capacities, trade, and regional cooperation.

Afghanistan is back to heavy fighting between the Taliban (banned in Russia) and the government forces amid a gradual withdrawal of Western troops.