From August 27 to 29, 2024, the fourth Regional Cooperation Conference on Border Security Issues in the Central Asian region, the "Issyk-Kul Initiative 2024", organized by the Latvian State Border Guard, took place in Riga, Ludza, and Rēzekne.
On the first day of the conference in Riga, participants discussed challenges related to border security in Central Asia and the gradual implementation of an integrated border management approach and its benefits for better border management. Conference participants also discussed priorities for strengthening the capacity of border guard agencies in Central Asia and the use of modern technologies for border security.
On the second day, delegations visited the Ludza Border Guard Department's Opoli Border Guard Post, where they viewed border surveillance equipment and the infrastructure of the Latvian-Russian state border. On the third day, participants visited the State Border Guard College, where they familiarized themselves with the educational process and infrastructure.
The conference was attended by deputy heads of border guard agencies from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as representatives from the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, the Polish Border Guard, the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and organizations such as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), the European Union Delegation to Latvia, EU-LISA, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and Riga Technical University.
The conference was held in accordance with the Grant Agreement "Border Management in Central Asia - BOMCA 10" signed between the State Border Guard and the European Union Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic (on behalf of the European Commission), under which the State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvia provides project management and leads its first component, "Institutional Development of Border Control Agencies.
