From September 8-9, the first National Steering Group (NSG) meeting was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The meeting was aimed at reviewing the Programme’s progress for the year and to define plans for the upcoming period. For this purpose, the Programme’s leadership, representatives of the European Union and implementing partners met with the key partners, such as state agencies and international organisations.
In his opening speech, Deputy Project Coordinator Mr. Vladimirs Zaguzovs highlighted the importance of the NSG not only in terms of assessment of already implemented activities, but also its instrumental role in laying the foundations for further cooperation with national partners. Mr. Maris Domins, Regional Manager, praised the efficiency of established communication channels and cooperation mechanisms.
The first day of the NSG in Tashkent, Uzbekistan was dedicated to the joint session, followed on the second day by the bilateral thematic consultations, held separately with each of the key national stakeholders (analysis of the post-activity results), international stakeholders (partnership opportunities for the next year) and including an assessment of the previous cooperation.
BOMCA 10 Component leaders have provided information on project implementation in 2022, as well as having presented a conceptual overview of the planned activities for 2023.
They reported that in Uzbekistan 33 activities were implemented, with the participation of over 280 officials from appropriate state agencies and non-government organizations. Noteworthy, the results of the activities include concrete action points proposed to the national counterparts in the format of recommendations, guidelines, operating procedures and training manuals. In the next implementation period, along with the realisation of the agreed work plan, the project will maintain regular contact with the national counterparts to stay abreast of the progress of the proposed actions.
During the meeting commitments were reiterated by all sides to the overall priorities and accents in the upcoming activities were defined, as well as stressing the continuous mutual interest in fruitful cooperation to maximise the achievement of results.
Participants from beneficiary agencies as well as EU representatives are given the possibility to share their opinions and ideas that came out of the participation in the BOMCA activities so far, as well as providing their recommendations for the successful implementation of remaining activities planned for 2022. Beneficiaries provided feedback on the status of recommendations, developed by BOMCA in 2021 and informed on which recommendations have been adopted into practice and which could be considered as potentially useful in the future.
The National Project Steering Group provides overall oversight and coordination for all aspects of the BOMCA 10 planning and implementation at the country level. These meetings serve as a basis for monitoring progress towards project goals and as a reference point for facilitating co-operation and partnerships with the beneficiaries during the implementation phase.