DUSHANBE. October 18, 2022 /NIAT «Khovar»/. On October 18, in Dushanbe, the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, participated and spoke at the High-Level International Conference on “International and Regional Border Security and Management Cooperation to Counter Terrorism and Prevent the Movement of Terrorists».

High-ranking official representatives of the United Nations member states, United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Pact institutions, international and regional organizations, civil society organizations and experts in the field of border security took part in the conference. They discussed countering terrorism and preventing the movement of terrorists.

This conference, being held in cooperation with the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and other international partners, is a logical continuation of «Dushanbe Process» that was launched in May 2018 during the first regional conference of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office together with the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The high-level event was opened by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Head of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, Vladimir Voronkov.

During his speech, President of the country, Emomali Rahmon, congratulated all the leaders of the distinguished delegations of the member states of the United Nations and other organizations to Tajikistan.

The Head of State Emomali Rahmon assuredly stated that during this conference the issues of security, border management and effective resistance to extremism and terrorism, in particular, prevention of the movement of terrorists through the borders, will be thoroughly discussed, and specific decisions will be made as a result.

It was emphasized that over the last years, the range of threats and challenges arising from terrorism and extremism has steadily expanded, these destructive phenomena cause terrible consequences, and the activities of terrorist and extremist organizations and groups are becoming increasingly trans-boundary and transnational in nature.

Moreover, the rapid spread of the infectious disease COVID-19 over the past two years and its consequences have made the process of confronting these threats even more difficult and disrupted the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving its Sustainable Development Goals in various regions of the world.

Terrorist groups are abusing such a situation, expanding their extremism activities, attracting more young people to it, encouraging and carrying out terrorist attacks, including using information and communication technologies.

President of the country Emomali Rahmon expressed that due to this situation, there is a need to develop new innovative approaches to the joint fight against terrorism, the spread of extremist ideology and religious extremism, including using modern technologies.

It was emphasized that Tajikistan actively participated in all international efforts and measures to eradicate these undesirable phenomena and became one of the active participants of the international anti-terrorist community.

As part of the implementation of the National Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan on Countering Terrorism and Extremism for 2016-2020, the Government of the country, among other significant achievements, also ensured the improvement of the mechanism for preventing terrorism and extremism and increasing the role of education and civil society.

The President of the country stated that Tajikistan is on the front line of the fight against extremism and terrorism and protects not only the region, but also the territories beyond it from the catastrophic consequences of these phenomena.

Taking into account the complex situation in the region, the Government of Tajikistan pays special attention to the constant strengthening of the state border protection and takes necessary measures to prevent the cross-border transfer of terrorist fighters, drug trafficking, weapons and other transnational crimes.

In order to improve the state border protection process, the Government of Tajikistan adopted the «National Border Management Strategy» in 2010 and its action plan for reforming the border security system for the period up to 2025 with the assistance of international partners.

With a view to ensuring the security of the region and the world, regular prevention of such a process and its tragic consequences are considered among the most necessary measures.

Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon emphasized that we hope that the countries of the world will unite in an effective resistance against these undesirable phenomena and in order to prevent the movement of terrorists, their transfer from one region to another, the understanding of the factors that provoke terrorism, as well as the development of a unified position on the concepts of extremism and terrorism.

Concluding his remarks, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, once again wished success and good results to all participants in the work of the conference, and voiced confidence that the countries and organizations will set up close cooperation to enhance the level of awareness, knowledge and capacity building of states in the fight against terrorism according to existing mechanisms.

Then, United Nations Secretary-General H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres and Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe H.E. Ms. Helga Schmid addressed the participants of the event with video-speeches and wished them success in the work of the conference. The work of the High-Level International Conference on “International and Regional Border Security and Management Cooperation to Counter Terrorism and Prevent the Movement of Terrorists» continues in separate sections, and it is expected that, according to the outcomes of the conference, the «Dushanbe Declaration on Security and Border Management to Counter Terrorism and Prevent the Movement of Terrorists» will be adopted.