TASHKENT. Feb 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The U.S. is helping Uzbekistan to strengthen its state borders.
U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan John Herbst has passed auxiliary equipment for the river fleet over to Vice Chairman of the State Border Protection Committee and commander of the committee's southern headquarters Ilkhom Ibragimov, the committee press service told Interfax on Wednesday.
The equipment, worth over USD200,000, will make the river fleet more effective in patrolling the border Amudarya River. The border guards have received five naval diesel engines, a metal- cutting facility, an engine lathe, electrical cables, four welding transformers and other equipment.
They will get 60t of ship steel, a diesel generator and 15 naval radios in two weeks, Ibragimov said.
The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said the U.S. government announced an expansion of cooperation with the Uzbek government in improving protection of Central Asian borders through the Central Asian Security Initiative in April 2000. The United States promised to allocate USD3m for purchase of agreement and training of personnel for Uzbek border guards.
The U.S. budget of 2002 envisages the transfer of USD900,000 for communication equipment, USD400m for surveillance and detection devices, USD120,000 for individual protection means and medical equipment, USD135,000 for means of transportation and over USD500,000 for training and other types of assistance.