Chinese Government provides $31.5 million grant to equip Tajik Customs Service with state-of-the-art screening technology and smuggling detection equipment

Project narrative

On October 13, 2018, the Chinese Government and the Government Tajikistan signed multiple agreements under the witness of Premier Li Keqiang. One of these agreements was a grant agreement for the improvement of the technical capacity of Tajik Customs Service. The purpose of the project was to acquire and install eight customs control (inspection) technologies — including state-of-the-art screening technology and smuggling detection equipment — worth more than $31.5 million. As part of the project, Chinese specialists also agreed to train Tajik customs officers how to operate the equipment. The equipment arrived in Tajikistan in 2020, but its installation was delayed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, in April 2021, Chinese experts arrived in Tajikistan to install equipment and train Tajik customs officers after the Covid-19 situation stabilized. Two months later, in June 2021, the customs equipment was officially put into use.