EU Delegation supports the Briefing on possible Technical Assistance to Turkmenistan in the Implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan on Prevention of Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism for 2020-2024
EEAS – On 30 January 2023, UNRCCA in partnership with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU Delegation in Turkmenistan co-organized a briefing on its countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism initiatives related to Turkmenistan.The briefing, which took place in Ashgabat, was attended by the representatives of the ministries, law enforcement agencies, non-profit and non-governmental as well as civil society organization of Turkmenistan. Participants were briefed by representatives of the UN and regional organizations on the current initiatives and possible technical assistance to Turkmenistan in the implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan on Prevention of Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism for 2020-2024.
Several EU funded initiatives and programmes, including Strengthening Resilience Against Violent Extremism in Asia (STRIVE Asia) Programme, a joint EU-UN partnership and Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) were extensively highlighted during the event.The EU continues to contribute to the fight against the evolving threat of terrorism and violent extremism through a 4 pillars strategy: anticipate, prevent, protect, and respond and the overall budget that is spent CT and P/CVE activities in third countries is increasing year after year. As of the end of 2021, there are approximately 450-million-euro worth of CT or P/CVE-specific projects with a geographical scope external to the EU.“The EU is committed to preventing radicalization and violent extremism in Central Asian region, with STRIVE Asia as a concrete example, in view of the security challenges that need to be addressed comprehensively.
Given Central Asia’s strategic importance, in 2019 the EU updated its Central Asia Strategy to focus on resilience: covering areas such as human rights, border security and the environment, with a strong emphasis on regional cooperation. I shall also highlight BOMCA and CADAP programmes that have contributed to the border management and border security in Turkmenistan and the whole region of Central Asia during the past 20 years. Both programmes had an individual approach to the border management finding best suitable solutions and offering most advanced technology and education to the relevant national agencies and their staff,” reads EU Ambassador’s statement on the occasion of the event. “The European Union will continue to provide the targeted technical assistance to Turkmenistan in preventing violent extremism and beyond for the benefit of all citizens of the region.”
The briefing included presentations about the possible technical assistance in such areas as cybersecurity, border security and management use of unscrewed aircraft systems, improving of national interagency coordination mechanism, and protection of vulnerable targets against terrorist attacks. The briefing also served as an opportunity for the Turkmen side to outline their priorities and to discuss ways how these priorities could be reflected in the work plans of the international partners.
