US Ambassador tours equipment donated by US Dept of Defense to Azerbaijani State Customs Committee (PHOTO)
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
United States Ambassador Lee Litzenberger joined the State
Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan Deputy Chairman
Javad Gasimov and other customs officials for a tour of the
equipment donated by the U.S. Department of Defense to the
Azerbaijani State Customs Committee at the Astara border crossing
point.
This equipment is one of several tranches of security assistance
provided by the U.S. Department of Defense program since 2019. The
Department of Defense has committed more than $90 million to
Azerbaijan's counter illicit trafficking, border security, and
maritime security efforts since 2019. The equipment the U.S.
Ambassador reviewed during the tour at the Astara border crossing
is valued at over $30 million USD to help the State Customs
Committee secure Azerbaijan's borders and stop the smuggling of
illicit goods.
Ambassador Litzenberger delivered remarks during the visit and
noted the U.S. Embassy's twenty-year relationship with the State
Customs Committee in countering proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and countering narcotics smuggling. Ambassador
Litzenberger said,“It is my hope that this donation will be one
more step in the 30-year relationship between our countries and
will enhance our effectiveness in improving the security of
Azerbaijan and the United States.”
“For 30 years we have worked with the Azerbaijani government and
people on issues related to the rule of law, human rights, the
economy, energy, and security. Using equipment we provided like
x-ray scanners and radars, Azerbaijan has successfully protected
its energy infrastructure, and improved its capability to interdict
smugglers of weapons of mass destruction and narcotics,” Ambassador
Litzenberger said.
Speaking at the Astara border crossing, the site of
the majority of Azerbaijan's drug seizures, Javad Gasimov, Deputy
Chairperson of the SCC noted the role U.S.-provided equipment has
played in the interdiction of drugs, weapons, and other contraband.
Expressing gratitude to Ambassdor Litzenberger for America's
assistance, he said:“There is no other partner like the United
States in the world; you are second to none.”
The U.S. Department of Defense contributes to capacity building
with partners around the world to defeat the illicit trafficking of
goods, people, narcotics, and weapons. The U.S. European Command's
Joint Interagency Counter Trafficking Center and U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration work with the U.S. Embassy to support
Azerbaijan's interdiction operations and investigations to secure
their borders and protect their populations from transnational
threats, organized crime, and violent extremists.
The U.S. Department of Defense has been an active partner with
the State Customs Committee and other border security organizations
in Azerbaijan since 2002. The donation of this equipment is one of
several since 2019 to strengthen border security capabilities along
Azerbaijan's southern border and to assist the State Customs
Committee in stopping the harmful impact of narcotics and other
materials smuggled into or through Azerbaijan.
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