A four-month regional training course on combating organized crime and terrorism for 22 police dog handlers from Central Asian countries ended in Tashkent.

"This course helped strengthen regional co-operation among law-enforcement canine services in Central Asia, making their fight against organized crime and terrorism more effective," said Ambassador Miroslav Jenca, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

Dog-handlers from special units of the National Security Services and the Interior Ministries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in the training. Each participant received a German shepherd dog and equipment to be used at their duty stations. Instructors from Austria and Russia led the sessions.

The training course was organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan with support from the OSCE Centres in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan and in co-operation with the Uzbekistan State Customs Committee’s National Dog Training Centre.