EDUCATIONAL CENTER OF ARMENIAN FRONTIER TROOPS FOUNDED IN YEREVAN WITH
FINANCING OF U.S. GOVERNMENT

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. An educational
center of RA Frontier Troops was founded on March 22 2006 in
Yerevan. The center for repaired with the assistance of the
U.S. government. The document on transferring the construction to the
Armenian side was signed by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans and
Commander of RA Frontier Troops Armen Abrahamian. Within the
framework of struggle against illegal circulation of drugs and
cooperation in the law-enforcement sphere the U.S. government has
invested 130 thousand USD for finishing the repairs of the
building. The repairs started a year ago by investing 84 thousand USD
within the framework of the U.S. Embassy’s program on control over the
export and security of borders. As Embassy representatives informed,
the educational center of Frontier Troops is intended for training of
both beginning frontier guards and those doing service. After the
repairs of the first part of the educational center some groups of
frontier guards took part in courses with a duration of 1-2 months
preparing for replacing the Russian frontier troops in Zvartnots
airport. Soon it’s envisaged to organize courses on using equipment on
passport decoding. Henceforth conscripts won’t serve on land borders
of the country, therefore the frontier guards should have training in
order to learn how to control borders with conscripts being
absent. “For sovereign states a good guard of borders is one of the
most important problems,” Ambassador Evans mentioned. He emphasized
that the investments made for retraining of the Armenian frontier
forces proceed from the interests of the Armenian people and the whole
international community. As Armen Abrahamian, Commander of RA Frontier
Troops, mentioned, the U.S. government renders assistance to the
frontier troops within the framework of the program on control over
the export and safety of borders made between the Armenian and U.S.
governments in 2000. By this program, starting from 2001, the Service
of Frontier Control of Frontier Troops of Armenia has been given
transport means and instruments of examination, radio stations,
computers, cars and in May 2005 the repaired and equipped building of
Bagratashen check point was put into exploitation. However, according
to Abrahamian, all these resources won’t ensure the desirable result
without training and retraining of the specialists, the possibility
for which is created at the educational center.