From July 5-7, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia organised a technical assistance mission on inter-agency cooperation between Customs and Phytosanitary, Veterinary services involved in border control at border checking points. The assistance is targeted at the representatives of the Agency of Plant Protection and Quarantine, State Committee of Veterinary and Livestock Development and State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The expert team, represented by the Customs Board of the State Revenue Service of Latvia and the Director of Border Control at the Department of Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia, reviewed the existing legislation which regulates cooperation among Customs Administration and SPS Institutions. As a result of this technical assistance, recommendations for the improvement of cooperation and communication tools among these institutions will be developed by the expert team. Successful implementation of these recommendations increases cooperation among the relevant agencies and thus facilitates international trade.

The mission is organised in the framework of the Programme’s Component 3, aimed at supporting the regional economic integration process. The importance of this component is underlined by the necessity of strengthening the facilitation of the legitimate trade flows.