December 1-2 – A two-day International Cynology Management Conference took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Heads of delegations from all Central Asian states, Azerbaijan, Belarussia, Russian Federation, and Ukraine made presentations on problems and prospects of developing canine services in their countries.  The conference was organized by the EU-UNDP Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) jointly with the Border Academy of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan and the US Embassy. Dog handling training sessions organized by the BOMCA on regular basis in Almaty and Tashkent proved to be important elements of border security. Participants of these trainings upgrade their practical and theoretical knowledge of dogs handling techniques in search of drugs and explosives (for border guards), as well as inspection of vehicles and passenger luggage (for customs inspectors). Learn more from Asel Sekimova, BOMCA Regional Communication Specialist (asel.sekimova@bomca.eu).

December 5-7 – Tashkent (Uzbekistan) hosted a regional three-day workshop for experts from phyto-sanitary and veterinary services from all Central Asian countries. Two experts from Latvia shared with their Central Asian counterparts European experience in veterinary and phyto-sanitary control principles and made presentations of the EU legislation related to food import and transit control, EU requirements for veterinary certification, principles of animal controls, veterinary import control management, general principles of phyto-sanitary measures and other issues. In the course of the workshop 37 participants discussed their national methods and best practices in veterinary and phyto-sanitary management at borders, exchanged experience and looked for possible cooperation areas between respective services. The workshop was organized by the EU-UNDP Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) together with the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Learn more from Asel Sekimova, BOMCA Regional Communication Specialist (asel.sekimova@bomca.eu).