As the United States and Tajikistan celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations this year, the United States reiterates appreciation for Tajikistan’s strong partnership in ensuring regional security and particularly border security. Since 1992, the United States has provided over $330 million in security sector assistance to Tajikistan. This assistance includes training, equipment and infrastructure which has helped Tajikistan secure its borders, detect threats, and increase the ability of law enforcement, military, and customs officials to respond to such threats.
As part of this assistance, we have rebuilt or renovated 13 border outposts, nine border checkpoint facilities, two border guard detachments, and three training centers for border guards. The Embassy has provided over 4,800 radios, 400 vehicles, 1,600 night-vision devices, and 160 kilometers of ground sensors to help Tajik border guards secure the border. Last year alone, U.S. security assistance to Tajikistan totaled $11.4 million, making the United States one of Tajikistan’s top donors. As evidence of our strong partnership, we have committed over $60 million in security-sector assistance to Tajikistan to be implemented and delivered over the next two years.
A top U.S. priority in Tajikistan is to support Tajik security agencies in their work to secure the Tajikistan border from terrorists and narco-traffickers. To facilitate regional cooperation, Tajikistan hosted U.S. Military-sponsored multi-lateral “Regional Cooperation” exercises in Central Asia focusing on joint responses to security threats and counterterrorism in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Tajikistan will host the “Regional Cooperation” exercise again in in 2022.
The United States averages over 40 military-to-military trainings and activities per year with Tajikistan,and has trained over 10,000 soldiers and law enforcement personnel on effective tactics for responding to terrorist threats, combatting drug trafficking, and carrying out special operations. The United States has also sent over 2,000 Tajik soldiers and security personnel to the United States, Germany, and other countries for training.
Highlights of U.S. security assistance to Tajikistan since 2001 include:
- 358 vehicles provided to the Tajik military, valued at $10.5 million, with another 38 Jeeps and 28 troop carrier trucks to arrive in Tajikistan this month
- 4,862 units of communications equipment (short and long-range radios) delivered, with another 500 on the way
- 1,673 Night Vision Devices provided
- 27 border facilities constructed or renovated, including 13 border outposts, nine border checkpoint facilities, two border guard detachments, and three training centers at a cost of over $25 million
- In the process of constructing a new border guard detachment at Ayvaj and a new border outpost at Chaldovar, for approximately $7 million.
- 21 pieces of heavy equipment for use in constructing or clearing access roads in the border areas (excavators, graders, scrapers, dump trucks, bulldozers, backhoes) delivered, at a cost of $6.2 million
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program planned for the next 2 years
- Constructed Karatog National Training Center, including shooting ranges and driving courses, at a cost of $7 million
- Constructed the “Dusti” bridge and customs facility at Nizhniy-Panj and equipped the facility with vehicle scanners, for a total cost of $40 million
- Constructed the Customs Training Academy, at a cost of $3.4 million
- Constructed the Nuclear Radiation Safety Agency Regional Training Center in Dushanbe and the National Calibration Laboratory of Tajikistan, at a cost of $2 million
- 13 Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) installed at Dushanbe International Airport, and in the process of installing such monitors at three train stations and 15 border crossings throughout the country
- Renovated the Training Center for the Ministry of Defense Peacekeeping Battalion at Shamsi Base, and built the field training area Magob for the Mobile Forces of the Ministry of Defense, at a cost of $1.5 million
- 55 Community Policing Centers constructed or renovated across the country, at a cost of $2.4 million
- Provided more than $1.5 million in support for the International Mine Action training center
- $450,000 annually for English language training and Professional Military Education courses for mid- and senior- level military officers, including courses offered in the United States through the International Military Education and Training Program
- Ongoing trainings on border management and customs control; biosecurity; tactical medicine, special forces operations; and radiation detection. Upcoming training programs include counter-improvised explosive device training for border security officers assigned to the Afghan border.
Transnational threats such as terrorism, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, and proliferation of nuclear weapons require joint actions and cooperation to combat. The United States remains a steadfast partner of Tajikistan in combating threats to security and sovereignty in the region,and intends to increase security sector assistance in the coming year.
