CSTO’s Plan To Strengthen Its Border With Afghanistan Progressing Forward

Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation’s (CSTO) Secretary General, stated that work on strengthening the security of the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border is important for the organisation.

Tasmagambetov said that the draft of this plan has been approved by the organisation’s Permanent Council and presented to the member countries.

Tajikistan, which is a member of CSTO, shares it’s border with Afghanistan.

Tajik authorities have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the threat posed by terrorist groups within Afghanistan.

The Secretary-General of the CSTO told TASS news agency that discussions on finalising the plan have been held between the member countries' ministers and relevant bodies of the organisation in recent weeks (late February-early March).

“Here it is important to note the political will of the leadership of two of the organisation’s members, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, who are aware of the scale of the threats emanating from Afghanistan,” he said.

Tasmagambetov expressed hope that the Secretariat of the CSTO would present the results of its work in the first half of the year.

The "Collective Security Treaty" was signed in May 1992 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In 2002, this treaty was given the status of an international organisation in Moscow.

Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are members of this organisation.