Niamey – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Security and Defense Cooperation Directorate (DCSD) of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs launched on 13 March a five-day training programme on integrated border governance, funded by the Belgian Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

The training brought together twenty-eight agents from Niger and Burkina Faso’s primary border services, including Customs, National Police, Health Police (Ministry of Health), and the Department of Water and Forests.

“The multi-stakeholder nature of this training effectively materializes inter-agency and cross-border cooperation and makes this workshop a framework for exchange and discussion among border agents on the issue of cooperation and coordination in practice,” says Sophie Hoffmann, the Immigration and Border Governance programme manager at IOM Niger.

“The integrated approach will enable border governance institutions to adopt relevant cooperation and coordination measures to make borders more flexible, better controlled, and more conducive to border trade and economic development of countries,” she adds.

The workshop was facilitated by experts from the IOM African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) and the Ecole Nationale à Vocation Régionale (ENVR). It enabled the border agencies to draw on their respective experiences and expertise to achieve a successful outcome.

“This training has allowed us to understand the scope of integrated border governance, including the coordination and cooperation of actors working at borders,” said Bachirou Hamissou Beydo, customs controller at the Birni N'konni post on the border with Nigeria. “We are sufficiently equipped to harmonize and rationalize our respective operations,” he adds.

The training workshop was held within the framework of the project "Strengthening Integrated Border Governance for Increased Security in Niger" funded by the Belgian Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Development Cooperation and implemented by IOM to strengthen security and stability in vulnerable border areas.

IOM supports the Government of Niger's border governance priorities and the implementation of the National Border Policy 2019-2035, whose objectives include fostering greater cooperation at the national and international levels between border management agencies to consolidate the efforts of security forces.

In Niger, IOM is committed to strengthening integrated border governance through the construction of integrated border posts, continued capacity building of authorities, and the involvement of communities in integrated border governance.

For more information, please contact Aïssatou SY, Public Information Officer, Tel: +227 80 06 65 31, aisy@iom.int.