A delegation of Guinean Police and Customs officers accompanied by IOM Guinea Conakry representatives carried out a study tour in the United Republic of Tanzania from 12 to 17 February 2018 under the framework of the project “Integrated Border Management between Guinea Conakry and Mali” funded by the Government of Japan.

One of the major objectives of the study tour was to see the practical aspects of the implementation of the concept of “Integrated Border Management” (IBM), with the goal of replicating the lessons learned back home in terms of enhancing inter-state cooperation to better secure their borders while facilitating cross-border trade and combating smuggling and trafficking of arms, drugs and humans through the construction of One-Stop-Border Posts (OSBP).

To achieve this, a field trip to the OSBP of Holili–Taveta, the Land Border Point between Tanzania and Kenya, was organized for the visiting team. Additionally, meetings with the Tanzania Police Force, Immigration Service Department, and Tanzania Revenue Authority were organized to discuss and exchange good practices in the management of flows of goods and persons, in order to draw comparative lessons on Integrated Border Management in its intergovernmental dimension in both countries and also within the two regional economic communities in the continent, i.e., the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community (EAC).

Mr Nsato Marijani Mssanzya, Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and Training at the Tanzania Police Force Headquarters, highlighted “the importance for countries like the United Republic of Tanzania and Guinea Conakry which share borders with many countries to implement a good integrated border management system so as to protect their people and their sovereignty”.

While addressing the visiting delegation and the Tanzania Immigration Commissioners at the Immigration Department Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, IOM Chief of Mission to Tanzania, Dr Qasim Sufi, stated that “in addition to contribute to building relations between Guinea Conakry and the United Republic of Tanzania, the study tour aims at contributing to an exchange of knowledge and best practices to be applied in the respective countries”.

The Head of the Guinean delegation, Mr Lancine Conde, Custom’s Training Unity Officer, expressed his gratitude to the Government of Tanzania and the International Organization for Migration for the opportunity to conduct the study visit in late Julius K. Nyerere’s country which for the visiting team stands a lead country in Integrated Border Management thanks to its well-operating OSBPs, the bilateral and regional Agreements in force within the EAC”.

Mr Ahmed Sekou Konate, Police Commissioner at Kouremale, Land Border between Guinea and Mali, added that “Tanzania’s good border management system through inter-agency and inter-state cooperation must be replicated in Guinea Conakry and the ECOWAS region so as to efficiently and effectively address the challenges of irregular migration faced in the region”.

IOM Guinea IBM Project Manager, Mr Yohei Komura, highlighted the richness in dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities, IOM Tanzania and the IOM ACBC. “The discussions led throughout the week will allow the Guinean delegation to take ownership of the concept of OSBP, and the lesson learnt in Tanzania will be shared with the Government of Guinea to lead to discussions in West Africa in respective of the ECOWAS and African Union commitment to ensure effective border management on the continent”.  

For more information, please contact:

Yohei Komura, IOM Guinea, Email: ykomura@iom.int, Tel. + 224 628 47 74 16

Melissa Tui, IOM ACBC, Email: mtui@iom.int, Tel. + 255 745 919 355