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European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) Deputy Executive Director for Standing Corps Management visiting Estonia to explore border guard learning opportunities in Estonia

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From today until 26 April, the Deputy Executive Director of Frontex together with officials will visit Estonia to learn about the possibilities of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences in offering study and development activities in the field of border management and to discuss the expansion of cooperation in the future. The visit is jointly organised by the Academy of Security Sciences, the Police and Border Guard Board and the Ministry of the Interior.

The four-member delegation is led by Ms Aija Kalnaja, Deputy Executive Director for Standing Corps Management. Visitors will be introduced to the study opportunities of the Tallinn Study Centre of the Academy of Security Sciences and visit the simulation centre. In addition to visiting and discussions in Tallinn, guests will be given a first-hand experience of the facilities of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences and the border infrastructure in Narva.

“We see a good opportunity for international cooperation, where Estonia, as a border state of the European Union, can offer Narva unique conditions and expert experience for training in border management for all parties,” says Veiko Kommusaar, Deputy Secretary General for Internal Security at the Ministry of the Interior.

“Narva has excellent conditions for border guard studies given that there is a wide range of border infrastructure at the external border of the European Union, including the possibilities of different types of border crossing points and land and sea borders. The Academy, in cooperation with the Police and Border Guard Board in Narva, also has high-level competence and expertise in border management,” explains Ingrid Vetka, Vice Rector of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.

“Frontex is our good cooperation partner, who supports guarding our eastern border with Standing Corps members, while our border guards in coordination by Frontex carry out border checks at the external borders of other countries of the European Union. Expansion of cooperation in the field of border management is an important and topical issue, as new information systems across Europe are about to be introduced in border management, and the countries of our region have similarly begun to build and modernise external border infrastructure,"said Helen Neider-Veerme, an expert on Strategic Border Management Cooperation at the International Cooperation Bureau of the Police and Border Guard Board.

The first impressions of the Frontex Deputy Director are positive. Ms Aija Kalnaja: “I am impressed by the organisation of learning and education in Estonia, and the level of integration achieved among security sector actors. ICT supported learning is one of the best I have seen. I hope to join our efforts in many projects spanning from cybersecurity to border management education at all levels.”

Joint activities in the field of training and development and testing of research-based solutions in international cooperation in Narva supports the development of the quality of education of the Academy and attracts the interest in taking up studies among young people. Increased activities in the field of border management creates an opportunity to achieve international visibility and impact as a competence centre for border management. For Narva and Ida-Viru County, increased international cooperation in the field of border management brings opportunities for new initiatives with higher education institutions and agencies in the region, as well as new visitors and consumers, whose economic footprint is certainly important.

Frontex supports EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries in the management of the EU’s external borders and in the fight against cross-border crime. Frontex is a centre of excellence in border control at the EU’s external borders, sharing intelligence and knowledge with all Member States and neighbouring countries affected by migration from third countries and cross-border crime.

The Academy of Security Sciences prepares rescuers and rescue managers, police officers and border guards, prison officers, tax and customs officials and top specialists in the field of internal security at the level of vocational education, professional higher education as well as master’s degree. The Police and Border Guard College of the Academy of Security Sciences participates in the work of the Frontex network of training institutions, where training and training programmes for border guards are developed and participation of border guards in training is organised.