DUSHANBE, March 19, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Thirty-five Afghan police took counternarcotics training courses in Dushanbe from February 17 to March 17 this year.

The courses were organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in cooperation with Tajikistan''s Interior Ministry and Drug Control Agency (DCA).

The two train-the-trainer courses, which were developed and organized by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, were specifically designed for the Afghan police officers.

According to DCA, the one-month courses focused on practical exercises on the planning and organizing of drugs search operations and employing modern training methods.  The participants examined the entire process of prosecuting drugs-related criminal cases, starting with the police investigation and ending in the courts.

The two projects were developed in response to an OSCE Ministerial Council decision adopted in Madrid in 2007 on enhancing engagement with Afghanistan, an OSCE Partner for Co-operation country.

The OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit has helped to organize a range of training courses for police practitioners in the OSCE region.  This includes training for the Afghan National Police, with a particular focus on fighting drugs trafficking.

The government of Japan, also an OSCE Partner for Cooperation, financed the projects.