Tajik President Emomali Rahmon asked the European Union to help strengthen the border with Afghanistan, TASS reports.

The head of state said that the territory of Afghanistan has become a breeding ground for international terrorism, and the country continues to be one of the world's largest drug producers. “In this regard, I express hope for an increase in EU assistance in this area,” Rahmon said.

He noted that the EU continues to help strengthen the border through the BOMCA (Central Asia Border Management Assistance Program) and CADAP (Central Asia Drug Prevention Program), but these measures are not enough to effectively counter the threats.

Rahmon added that he considers it important to take joint measures to combat the threat of the expansion of terrorism, extremism, manifestations of religious radicalism, cybercrime, drug and arms trafficking.

Earlier, officers of the UFSB in the Ulyanovsk region detained a 51-year-old native of Central Asia for financing the international terrorist organization (ITO), Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad, banned in Russia. The man was deprived of Russian citizenship, he faces a term up to life imprisonment.