SKOPJE, Macedonia, April 14 (UPI) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe donated supplies Tuesday that provide training and support for Macedonian border police.
The OSCE donated first aid training and computer technologies to the Macedonian Interior Ministry's Sector for Border Affairs and Migration. The donation is part of an ongoing effort to help strengthen border security in Eastern Europe, the OSCE reported.
Officials said Macedonian border police are usually the first to respond to remote emergency situations. The first aid equipment donation will go to support the overall border-security operations in Macedonia aimed at countering transnational criminal groups trafficking illicit goods through the region.
"The border police officers are in most cases the first to respond to emergencies in remote communities. Therefore such training is essential for both their own safety and for local residents," Paulo Costa, the head of the OSCE mission in Macedonia's police-development department, said in a statement.
"This donation is part of a wider plan to support the national border-police service, organized-crime unit and training structures of the Ministry of Interior in responding to the needs of the communities in line with modern policing principles."
