Press Releases 2004

Deputy Chief of Mission Cameron Munter presented computer equipment and cameras totalling $312,000 to the Polish Border Guard and Customs in a ceremony today at the Border Guard Headquarters in Warsaw.

Munter said, “Today's ceremony is yet another example of a very good cooperation between Poland and the United States. By helping bolster the security of Poland, which is on the front-line of Europe, we help make the rest of the continent – and thus the United States – more secure as well.”

The donated equipment includes 80 laptops, 40 combination printer/scanner/fax machines, and 40 digital movie cameras, which will be evenly divided between the Border Guard and Customs. The equipment will help officials on Poland’s eastern frontier transmit timely information to their headquarters regarding suspect items and persons crossing the border.

Often information must be sent by police, customs officials or border guards located at remote border crossings to licensing authorities, chemical/nuclear experts and others for licensing determinations or identification of goods and persons. The equipment will be dedicated to transmitting more accurate information about non-proliferation.

The donation of equipment is only part of a wider program of export control and border security that the U.S. Government is implementing. Over the last two years the Embassy has provided specialized tools such as multi-purpose knife kits, radiation pagers, GPS receivers and computers to the border officials. The Embassy has also coordinated 16 training courses for approximately 500 Polish participants from Customs, Border Guard and other Polish law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Government is expected to purchase additional equipment for the border control agencies, as well as provide specialized training for different Polish institutions and agencies. These kinds of investments will help them make the Polish border more secure.



Contact: Jim or Dick Custin, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs, (022) 504-2323