ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan -- The Kyrgyz State Border Service (GPS) Tuesday (September 17) conducted its annual Barrier-2019 exercise in Karakol, Issyk-Kul Province, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on its website.
The goal of the OSCE-supported exercise was "to enhance the professional capacities of the [GPS] and interagency co-operation to improve operational preparedness in responding to incidents and countering transnational threats", said the OSCE.
Personnel from the GPS and the Interior, Emergency Situations and Health ministries took part in this year’s exercise.
"The participants ... worked out a possible scenario of the situation at the border and demonstrated a quick response. This is a great tool to increase the effectiveness of state border protection and improve the border security of the republic," GPS Deputy Chairman Kurmanbek Isakov said.
This development comes amid border improvements across Central Asia, as the region continues to prioritize security following the defeat of the "Islamic State" (IS) in Iraq and Syria and the scattering of the group's fighters across the region.
