EU Supports Azerbaijan, Georgia to Raise Standard of Vet & Phytosanitary Border Control

RED BRIDGE. 1 March 2017 – On March 1, 2017, Azerbaijani and Georgian border officials joined hands with representatives of the European Union and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to lay a cornerstone for the new border check facilities at the Red Bridge crossing point.

A construction of laboratory premises for veterinary control was launched on the Georgian side and an ongoing project for new customs terminal complex was presented on the Azerbaijani end of the Red Bridge. The premises on the Georgian side will be fully adapted to conduct control of live animals and food products of animal and non-animal origin in line with the standards of the European Union.

Director General of Georgian Revenue Service, First Deputy Minister of Finance, Giorgi Tabuashvili, opened the ceremony on the Georgian side of the border and placed a symbolic cornerstone under the foundation of the new facility together with Aydin Aliyev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Custom Committee; Malena Mard, Ambassador of the European Union to Azerbaijan; Niels Scott, Head of UNDP in Georgia and Ghulam M. Isaczai, Head of UNDP in Azerbaijan.

The construction projects on the Azerbaijan-Georgia border are part of the EU-funded initiative aimed at improvement of veterinary and phytosanitary control at the Red Bridge crossing point. This bilateral project is implemented by the Tbilisi and Baku offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with main partners and beneficiaries – the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Total value of the project stands at EUR 2,660,000. The European Union is the main contributor with EUR 2,128,000, while the rest of the budget is equally shared by the Governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan.