Baku - On 25 January 2022, the Chief of IOM Mission to Azerbaijan Vladimir Gjorgjiev participated at the Inauguration and opening ceremony of “Customs Passenger Information Unit” held by the State Customs Committee. The event brought together government officials, diplomats, as well as experts.

In the official opening session, the participants were welcomed by Mr. Safar Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Customs Committee, Mr. James Sharp, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mrs. Vladanka Andreeva, UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Chief of İOM Mission in the Azerbaijan Republic, Mr. Matthew Beckingham, Assistant director of UK Border Force, Ms. Christine Bradley, Chief of Countering Terrorist Travel Section of United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.

Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Chief of IOM Azerbaijan in his opening remark highlighted the importance of the inaugurated system for Azerbaijan which will foster time and resource efficiency. He noted that IOM Azerbaijan supports the Government institutions including Customs Committee in improving the policy, legislation, operational systems, human resources, and administrative and technical structures required to respond more effectively to diverse migration and border management challenges.

Mr. Vladimir Gjorgjiev reaffirmed IOM’s commitment to strengthen operational capacities of the relevant official bodies which contribute to border security, counter illegal migration, terrorism, and serious economic crimes.

After opening speeches, presentation of “Customs Passenger Information Unit and its functions” and demonstration of video on UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (GoTravel) the participants attended the opening ceremony of “Customs Passenger Information Unit” at the Administrative building of General Customs Department on Air Transport.

It should be noted that as the local mission of the UN agency for migration, IOM Azerbaijan assisted the Government of Azerbaijan in establishing Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) under the auspices of the project “Enhancing Passenger Processing Capacities in Azerbaijan in line with International Best Practices and Standards” financed by the IOM Development Fund.

Within the frames of the above-mentioned project, IOM Azerbaijan, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and the UK Border Force in a collaborative manner held the workshop for participants from various government agencies and companies to assist the Government in establishing API and PNR systems to make travel safer and easier for all.

On 24-25 August 2021, IOM Azerbaijan also organized a study visit to Paris, France, for the API/PNR Working Group members of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The delegation of seven officials included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Customs Committee, State Security Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Foreign Intelligence Service, State Migration Service. The study visit gave the Azerbaijani delegation an opportunity to observe and discuss important aspects of API/PNR and the Passenger Information Unit (PIU) implementation, reflect upon their own legislative reform, as well as issues and challenges around implementation.