Launch of counter-narcotics training sponsored by the NATO-Russia Council

The first training courses for Afghan law enforcement officers, under a pilot project launched by the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), are scheduled to begin on 15 and 25 September at training centres in Turkey and Russia.

Some 44 trainees have been selected for these courses, which are being conducted at the Turkish Academy Against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) in Ankara and the Domodedovo International Training Centre near Moscow.

The trainees were selected by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in close cooperation with the Afghan government. NRC mobile training teams will also conduct additional training in the five Central Asian states and Afghanistan.

The decision to launch the Pilot Project on Counter-Narcotics Training for Afghan and Central Asian Personnel was taken by NRC Foreign Ministers at a meeting on 8 December 2005.

The aim of this ambitious initiative is to contribute to security in and around Afghanistan by sharing the combined expertise of NRC member states with mid-level officers from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Specialist training will be provided in the region, as well as at existing facilities in Russia and Turkey. The UNODC was asked to serve as the Pilot Project’s executive agent in order to ensure that the Pilot Project will complement other ongoing counter-narcotics efforts.