News
Visit of the Director-General of the EC's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO)
EU CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for Central Asia
Tashkent, 14 July 2017. 
Funded by the European Union
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre of Excellence, Regional Secretariat for Central Asia
Visit of the Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO)
On 14 July 2017, during his mission to Uzbekistan, Mr. Stefano Manservisi, Director General of DEVCO, visited the CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for Central Asia. Mr. Manservisi was accompanied, inter alia, by Ambassador Eduards Stiprais, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan as well as by Ms. Raffaella Iodice, Head of Unit for Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia; Ms. Berenice Muraille, Head of Sector for Central Asia and Mongolia; Mr. Ovidiu Mic, Head of Cooperation at the EUD; and Ms. Sanchez Gil-Cepeda, Chief, DEVCO Fragility Unit.
Among the representatives from Uzbekistan there were Mr. Vladimir Norov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Belgium; Mr. Bakhtiyor Gulyamov Head of the Regional Secretariat for Central Asia; and the National Focal Point for the CBRN CoE Mr. Jamshed Sharipov. The CBRN CoE Regional Coordinator for Central Asia, Ms. Fanny Fert (UNICRI) was also attending the meeting.
Mr. Manservisi praised the continuing successful cooperation between the EU and Uzbekistan that successfully led to common initiatives in the country and in the region and underlined the importance to welcome new partner countries and in particular Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The Director General of DEVCO highlighted the relevance of the experience and the network developed within the Regional Secretariats and the wide spectrum of activities implemented so far. This experience and network could be used to go beyond CBRN risk mitigation and touch upon transversal areas of work such as border management or cybersecurity.
Mr. Manservisi mentioned the importance of creating synergies and building bridges between different regions. In addition, he praised and encouraged the organization of table-top and field exercises.
In his speech, Mr. Gulyamov underlined that the participation of Uzbekistan in the Centre of Excellence Initiative and ultimately the opening of the Regional Secretariat, contributed to better frame and address critical aspects in the CBRN field in Uzbekistan as well as in the neighbouring countries. He also reiterated his support for the development of the National Action Plans as well as to the idea of developing a Regional Action Plan. He provided details on the current activities and mentioned the participation of Mongolia in project P53 on bio-safety and bio-security and in the drafting of the new project on biological and chemical waste management. He also expressed his wish to see Mongolia officially joining the CBRN CoE Initiative. Mr. Gulyamov underlined the importance of international cooperation in CBRN risk mitigation and praised the role played by UNICRI.
Mr. Norov expressed his interest in expanding the Centres of Excellence activities and model of cooperation among countries beyond the CBRN field. In this respect he mentioned the risks associated to returning foreign fighters and the wide and easy spread of explosive devices.
The visit of the Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development highlighted the benefits of working for a common language and a common security concept that goes in parallel with the development of an integrated CBRN approach, incorporating all international, regional and national CBRN components into a common strategy.
The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative involves 56 countries in 8 regions of the world, is funded by the European Union and is jointly implemented by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC). The initiative has been developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organizations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders, through coherent and effective cooperation at the national, regional and international level. The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative aims at strengthening regional security and safety by sharing good practices and capabilities, by developing guidelines, by identifying and deploying resources to respond to the needs identified by partner countries and by supporting the development of national CBRN policies.
For more information:
CBRN Centres of Excellence website: http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/ European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website (see section about "Stable Situations"): http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/node/7350
Tashkent, 14 July 2017.
Funded by the European Union
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre of Excellence, Regional Secretariat for Central Asia
Visit of the Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO)
On 14 July 2017, during his mission to Uzbekistan, Mr. Stefano Manservisi, Director General of DEVCO, visited the CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for Central Asia. Mr. Manservisi was accompanied, inter alia, by Ambassador Eduards Stiprais, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan as well as by Ms. Raffaella Iodice, Head of Unit for Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia; Ms. Berenice Muraille, Head of Sector for Central Asia and Mongolia; Mr. Ovidiu Mic, Head of Cooperation at the EUD; and Ms. Sanchez Gil-Cepeda, Chief, DEVCO Fragility Unit.
Among the representatives from Uzbekistan there were Mr. Vladimir Norov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Belgium; Mr. Bakhtiyor Gulyamov Head of the Regional Secretariat for Central Asia; and the National Focal Point for the CBRN CoE Mr. Jamshed Sharipov. The CBRN CoE Regional Coordinator for Central Asia, Ms. Fanny Fert (UNICRI) was also attending the meeting.
Mr. Manservisi praised the continuing successful cooperation between the EU and Uzbekistan that successfully led to common initiatives in the country and in the region and underlined the importance to welcome new partner countries and in particular Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The Director General of DEVCO highlighted the relevance of the experience and the network developed within the Regional Secretariats and the wide spectrum of activities implemented so far. This experience and network could be used to go beyond CBRN risk mitigation and touch upon transversal areas of work such as border management or cybersecurity.
Mr. Manservisi mentioned the importance of creating synergies and building bridges between different regions. In addition, he praised and encouraged the organization of table-top and field exercises.
In his speech, Mr. Gulyamov underlined that the participation of Uzbekistan in the Centre of Excellence Initiative and ultimately the opening of the Regional Secretariat, contributed to better frame and address critical aspects in the CBRN field in Uzbekistan as well as in the neighbouring countries. He also reiterated his support for the development of the National Action Plans as well as to the idea of developing a Regional Action Plan. He provided details on the current activities and mentioned the participation of Mongolia in project P53 on bio-safety and bio-security and in the drafting of the new project on biological and chemical waste management. He also expressed his wish to see Mongolia officially joining the CBRN CoE Initiative. Mr. Gulyamov underlined the importance of international cooperation in CBRN risk mitigation and praised the role played by UNICRI.
Mr. Norov expressed his interest in expanding the Centres of Excellence activities and model of cooperation among countries beyond the CBRN field. In this respect he mentioned the risks associated to returning foreign fighters and the wide and easy spread of explosive devices.
The visit of the Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development highlighted the benefits of working for a common language and a common security concept that goes in parallel with the development of an integrated CBRN approach, incorporating all international, regional and national CBRN components into a common strategy.
The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative involves 56 countries in 8 regions of the world, is funded by the European Union and is jointly implemented by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC). The initiative has been developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organizations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders, through coherent and effective cooperation at the national, regional and international level. The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative aims at strengthening regional security and safety by sharing good practices and capabilities, by developing guidelines, by identifying and deploying resources to respond to the needs identified by partner countries and by supporting the development of national CBRN policies.
For more information:
CBRN Centres of Excellence website: http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/ European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website (see section about "Stable Situations"): http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/node/7350