Today a bilateral workshop for interagency working groups in charge of development and improvement of integrated border management (IBM) strategies in Armenia and Georgia started in the premises of Tekeyan Cultural Center. The workshop is organised within the framework of «Supporting Integrated Border Management Systems in the South Caucasus» (SCIBM) programme, with overall coordination of the Armenian National Security Council, which is the principal government partner in charge of development of the national strategy. The opening session of the three-day workshop was attended by Mr. Arthur Baghdasaryan, Secretary of the National Security Council, Mr. Arman Kirakossian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia, Onno Simons, Acting Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Mr. Philip Peirce, SCIBM Regional Coordinator, as well as senior officials from relevant government agencies of Armenia and Georgia involved in the development of border security strategies and related legislation. The workshop will consist of presentations and working discussions moderated by prominent international and national experts and will cover such topics as the IBM concept, development of IBM strategies, principles of intra-agency, inter-agency and international cooperation, development of national legislation arising from already adopted IBM strategies in Georgia and strategies currently developed in Armenia. Welcoming the participants of the forum, Mr. Dirk Boberg said: «It is well known that IBM is a relatively new concept for many of the countries, but I believe that the best practices and experiences which are already introduced and widely implemented in most of the EU member states will serve as a model for the countries in the South Caucasus region to develop their own IBM systems - coherent and synchronized at the regional and international levels». He thanked the EU and the ICMPD colleagues for the continuous support and called on the workshop participants to use this excellent opportunity to exchange the IBM-related knowledge and experience with each other, as well as with their EU colleagues from Croatia, Hungary, and France. During the workshop participants will be informed about the EU experience of development of IBM strategies and related legislation, discuss possibilities of joint activities at inter-agency level, exchange knowledge on information management, identify priorities of intra and inter-agency cooperation within individual countries, as well as priorities of bilateral and international cooperation. «Supporting Integrated Border Management Systems in the South Caucasus» (SCIBM) is a UNDP implemented and EU-funded programme with an overall budget of EUR 1,403,000. The aim of the programme is the establishment of IBM principles and operational techniques in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan as well as enhancement of inter-agency, bilateral and regional co-operation between the South Caucasus countries, EU member states and other international stakeholders, with the ultimate goal to facilitate the movement of legitimate persons and goods across borders, while at the same time maintaining those borders secure and locked for any kind of illegal activity.