The EU-funded Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) has started the second round of National Project Steering Group meetings (NSG) in Central Asia, in order to review the progress of its second implementation year and define plans for the upcoming period. On 11 September, a meeting was held in Astana, gathering national counterparts from Kazakhstan directly involved in the implementation thereof.

It is worth noting that NSG provides the overall oversight and coordination for all aspects of the BOMCA 10 planning and implementation at the country level, as well as facilitating preparation for the Regional Steering Group meeting, to be held in November 2023.

When welcoming participants, Mr. Maciej Adam Madalinski, Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the European Union Delegation to Kazakhstan, highlighted the role of this event for the programme: 

“Since we are talking about integrated border management - we are happy and proud of the results that we achieved so far and of what Kazakhstan has committed to do. We hope this Programme can help in this matter, and on a broader range of issues, also related to the respect of international sanctions regime by Kazakhstan. We will continue to monitor the results of the BOMCA Programme. In fact, the role of the Coordination Group at the national level is very responsible, since its members will monitor and provide guidance for the entire implementation of the Project. I believe that participants of today's event will contribute to the impact assessment in terms of achieving the goals, establishing the expected results of the BOMCA 10 Programme,” he said.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Nurzhan Aitmakhanov, Head of Unit in the Department of Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, stressed his appreciation of the support for the Central Asian region in strengthening cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of border management. “The European Union is one of the key political and economic partners of Kazakhstan, cooperation with which is actively developing in all areas within the framework of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, covering 29 areas, including security issues. Effective border management is a fundamental component of the security and stable economic development of our region. In the current situation, it seems important to further deepen our interaction in the field of advanced training, automation and modernisation of border control systems,” he noted.